


Soul glitch

by faeriesope, hrhjtinajv



Series: Soul Glitch Series [1]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alec is confused, Alternate Universe, M/M, Matt is enjoying the ride, Switching Places
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-09
Updated: 2018-03-08
Packaged: 2018-10-01 21:46:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 31,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10201265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/faeriesope/pseuds/faeriesope, https://archiveofourown.org/users/hrhjtinajv/pseuds/hrhjtinajv
Summary: Alec switches places with Matthew Daddario after an attempt to save his life goes horribly wrong.Alec has to fake his way through the mundane world, passing off as this weird Italian guy, hoping to not set off any red flags with the mundane versions of his friends. Matt however is having the time of his life, living the dream of being malecs #1 Stan.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Idk what this is tbh. Don't judge me! Enjoy <3 dedicated to my lovely Tumblr friend who gave me the motivation I needed to even carry on with this fic <3!!

Alec slowly but surely regained consciousness, but couldn’t find the strength to open his eyes. His throat was dry, ears ringing, his skin felt tight and his stomach was cramping up. Judging by the frantic footsteps in the distance, he could tell someone was rushing towards him.

 

Either to help him, or kill him, he didn’t know. And honestly? He was too tired to care.

 

Ideally he wanted to get up - lazing around with your back against hard concrete wasn’t his ideal position in a fight. Alec wanted to continue, to get up and fight but his body felt weak and languid. He was sure he was also suffering from a small case of delirium.

 

The former adrenaline that had been rushing through his system like an ally had faded at some point. His current state left him longing for silk sheets and a very warm and beautiful warlock that he prayed to the Angel was okay.

 

At this point, Alec was sure he had hit his head pretty hard because the moments leading up to his current condition were all a blur.

 

He faintly recalls Madzie saving his life from a very angry Valentine who had been wielding the Soul Sword like a baton, nearly costing him his head in the process. Alec could slightly remember a greenish-brown glow emitting from a very unhealthy looking portal and he thought he remembered Magnus yelling 'NO'. He wasn't sure.

 

Again, it was all a blur and he was kind of a mess right now. He could very well possibly be tripping on crazy fumes at the moment.  

 

Just the thought of Magnus made Alec’s heart beat a little faster. He wanted Magnus - his sweet, beautiful boyfriend with the sexy magic hands and golden eyes. Magnus could surely help ease him out of this annoying debacle.

 

 _Magnus was cool like that_ , Alec thought.

 

The infuriating footsteps became louder and his tiresome brain could make out the sound of heels.

 

That couldn’t be right though - Izzy had forced him to leave so she could go drown herself in vampire venom, so she wasn't here - and he was sure, not positive, but was almost certain that Clary never sported the highheel look? Then again, he never paid much attention to her - or her feet for that matter.

 

Just the thought of the annoying talking carrot actually made him want to groan out his frustrations. It was nothing against her, but if anyone was about to save him, he wanted it to be Magnus. Matter of fact, it'd better be him.

 

Alec was perfectly content being the wounded warrior, rescued by the all powerful and absolutely gorgeous High Warlock Of Brooklyn. He could live with that. Call him needy all you want, but receiving super awesome warlock cuddles sounded, as the mundanes say, pretty fucking lit right now.

 

“Oh my god, is he going to be okay? We need to get him to wake up!” he heard a strangely familiar voice say, sounding awfully a lot like his mother. It was weird, and she sounded softer? Death confirmed, Alec wasn’t living real life right now.

 

“I don’t know” he heard another voice chime in, sounding equally as worried. “But we have to call 911. Hey buddy, stay with me. Help is on the way” he heard, and oh god, it was simon.

 

Who the hell let this vampire in the middle of a warzone? Wasn’t he supposed to be kidnapped right now? Alec didn’t have the willpower to think much on it, but he definitely would be punching simon at a later date for even suggesting the mundane police getting involved. That was a headache he wanted nothing to do with.

 

He quickly realized it was probably a good idea to try and move. Being half dead was losing its fun. He needed to force open an eye, twitch his leg, do something. Regaining control of his shock ridden body wasn’t as easy as one would think.

 

Alec did however, manage to groan out loud, causing whoever had just chosen the time to crouch down at his left, to immediately place his head in their lap. It felt nice, he wouldn’t complain, sure beats concrete.

 

“Guy’s he’s waking up!” he heard his baby sister shout, and now he was definitely thrown for a loop. How on earth did she get here so fast? She sounded healthier at least.

 

Another person knelled down at his right. “Matt, buddy, open your eyes man. You’re scaring me” he heard some crazy british man say. Who the fuck was Matt? That was a question he would definitely need answering at a later timing.

 

He felt foreign hands shaking his bruised shoulder repeatedly, and it gave him enough of a jolt to finally open his sleep crusted eyes. He immediately regretted this decision however. Everything in the room was bright, and his pupils felt like they were on fire.

 

Alec quickly placed his arm over his head, wincing at the pain and shielding his eyes from the offending lights.

 

When he felt the pain subside, he took a deep breath, before slowly sitting up facing his concerned audience. Alec lowered his wrist, and took in his surroundings, blinking rapidly.

 

The sight before him made his mouth agape. Izzy, his mother, Jace, and simon were all crowded around him with worried expressions, and fear in their eyes. Shouldn’t they be off fighting Valentine? And most importantly, where the fuck was Magnus? Was he okay?

 

Alec needed answers.

 

With widened eyes, he began to peer around the room searching for any sight of his wonderful boyfriend. “Where’s Magnus? Did Valentine hurt him? I swear by the angel, if any of you let something bad happen to him by focusing on me, i’ll kill you all myself” he hissed through gritted teeth.

 

Jace quirked a brow, sharing an odd look with Simon, that said he had absolutely no idea what Alec was talking about. Stupid parabatai.

 

“Matthew we aren’t on set buddy, chill. What happened? You literally just fainted without reason.” said the british voice, that for some reason was coming out of his brothers mouth.

 

That wasn’t normal, what on earth was going on? Alec furrowed his brows staring incredulously at everyone.

 

Without much thought, he quickly used his legs to scoot the hell away from the identical freaky brit twin and began searching frantically for his seraph blade that had been tucked tightly away in his holster.

 

Panic rose throughout his body, as he pulled out a flimsy piece of plastic crap that had once been his second best weapon. The bow was obviously the first. Right! Not important, he reminded himself.

 

“Who took my weapon?” he asked aloud, sounding more fearful than he had originally intended.

 

Jace again glanced at simon,  they appeared to be having some weird mental conversation, and it was definitely making Alec want to shout ‘what the fuck’ out loud.

 

“How hard did you hit your head?” he heard his mom ask, as she hesitantly made her way towards him.

 

She crouched down beside him, pushing a piece of fallen hair out of his eyes, with a worried smile. “You’re going to be okay Matt, the paramedics will be arriving shortly” she soothed, and honestly? Alec would be lying he dared claim he wasn’t suddenly more relaxed now.

 

He could get used to this change of attitude.

 

But the real question is, were they all fucking with him? Had he been knocked out for longer than he had originally thought, and everyone just decided to play a prank on him without Magnus’ knowledge?

 

He was just about to speak, when in walks said warlock, looking extremely tired. He lacked his usual flare, and instead wore a boring grey hoodie, with some jeans. His usual slicked up hair, was laying gently against his forehead, and the dark kohl that never left his rounded eyes was missing.

 

Concerned, but still relieved, Alec instantly pushed up to his feet and wobbled towards his boyfriend.

 

“Mags what the hell is going on here? Why is everyone acting strange? Is this another mundane prank holiday? Jace is british!” he shouted, and Magnus raised his brows looking just as confused as everyone else in the room.

 

He looked down at the neon pink piece of paper in his hands, eyeing it dubiously.

 

“That wasn’t in today's script?” he replied with a frown, and Alec felt his stomach drop.

 

He gulped, and allowed himself to finally observe his surroundings with a careful eye, and almost choked on his own spit in the process.

 

The once dark runes covering his siblings bodies weren’t there.

 

They were all dressed in lazy clothes, holding scripts and varying cups of coffee in their palms.

 

Alec felt his jaw drop, and felt the rush of anxiety spark a chill down his spine, that ran his angelic blood cold.

 

His family were mundanes. Magnus was a mundane.

 

Alec woke up in the twilight zone.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Matthew time <3 I'm glad everyone liked the first chapter! I love this weirdo so much.

Matt considered himself fairly intelligent, despite what the young people continuously mocked him for. He kept up with modern terminology, and made it his mission to understand the unfathomable annoyance of internet lingo. 

But besides all of that, he was highly educated. He could tell you all about the intricate history of Rome, while also explaining the battle of Cannae in perfect detail. Close friends and family dubbed him as a walking google, and you know what? He was okay with that. It’s good to know stuff, and expand one's mind beyond what society deems feasible. 

With that being said, Matt liked to think of himself as someone who was very rational. When something odd, or unexplainable happened he could pick apart the details, and come up with a valid reasoning as to why it occurred.

He wasn’t a skeptic per say, but he didn’t allow human instincts, such as fear, to insult his judgement. It was pretty much fact that there would always be a perfectly good explanation for everything… Or so he thought.

With that being said, he was also positive a few minutes ago that it was absolutely, 100% impossible for random portals to magical alternate universes to just pop up in the center of a break room. 

But that was then, and this is now.

Would you believe he just wanted a simple cup of coffee? He was so tired, and thirsty! This coffee was perfect too, the crew was nice enough to bring in some luxurious high dollar brand, and he was missing it. That sucked. 

Instead, Matt found himself sitting quietly on the edge of a leather sofa, watching as Har- Magnus Bane, yeah that guy, shouted animatedly at a bunch of lousy shadowhunters. He was glad to not be on their end of the stick that’s for sure. 

He seemed angry, and you know sometimes anger is a good thing. Sometimes it’s not, but he seemed mad for a good reason so Matt decided not to butt in. These shadowhunters needed to learn some respect anyways. 

“Magnus it’s not our fault! Madzie opened the portal, she threw him in it. Why the hell are you yelling at us, when you should be figuring out a way to get my brother back” Jace shouted back, and wow, Matt thought, he really needed to watch his tone. 

Magnus’ face suddenly overcome with rage, as his glamour lifted revealing golden cat eyes in replace. They were mesmerizing. Much better than the crappy CGI he was generally used to. He looked ready to kill, and Matt found it hard to contain a snort. 

“Alec will be found, you don’t have to worry about that shadowhunter.” Magnus seethed, stepping closer in Jace’s personal space. 

“But don’t you dare for one second think that I am obligated to do anything you ask of me. If it wasn’t Alexander, I promise, you would all be thrown out of here and never allowed to return. Do I make myself clear?” He asked in warning. 

Jace immediately backed down, and Clary placed her hand on Magnus’ forearm with a look of guilt and concern. “Magnus i’m so sorry. If it wasn’t for me, none of this would've happened I-” 

“Clary stop” Jace interrupted, and crossed his arms over his chest. “This isn’t your fault. We’ll get Alec back” he added. 

Matt scoffed, and rolled his eyes, these people were irritating. 

“Excuse me this is, in fact all Clary’s fault. She was the one who had to come and screw everything up for everyone. She is literally the worse character I have ever seen quite frankly. She doesn’t listen, she just whines a lot” he spoke for the first time since he landed in the loft. 

All four heads whipped to face him with mouths agape and furrowed brows. They knew he was here, but they hadn’t said much to him. Magnus had already claimed Madzie must of accidentally swapped Alec out for a mundane version, but that was the end of that conversation. Then the arguing started, everyone blaming different people for things they couldn't of possibly had control over. It was getting hard to watch. 

“What did you just say mundane?” Jace growled, and wow this guy had some anger issues.

Apparently shadowhunters needed to clean their ears, what’s this guy on about it? He spoke perfectly clear. Matt was offended, plus mundane wasn’t a very nice word in his experience. 

“Come on guys, her character literally causes an uproar in everyone’s lives. All we can thank her for honestly, is for malec becoming a thing. Without her being a naive little girl, Alec wouldn’t have a man. That’d be problematic considering varying circumstances. He’d still be emotionally stunted and rather difficult to deal with, so there's that” he rambled on.

“She causes issues, but I guess she’s needed. Whatever. ” he added and looked around to see everyone still extremely confused.

That’s not his problem. He didn’t ask to end up in a fantasy land, he just wanted some coffee. The coffee that smelled delicious and Harry had already raved about it. Life wasn’t fair sometimes, but what can you do? 

Magnus and Luke walked closer to him, hesitant but curious. Luke had his arms crossed, and Magnus sipped on his cocktail before stepping even closer. 

“Enlighten me please” Magnus said kindly.  
“why do you keep referring to my dearest biscuit as a character? She’s as real as the rest of us you know” He stated, voice calm and relaxing. 

Luke on the other hand, looked like he wanted to rip his throat out. Which was understandable really. Matt had just insulted clary, though everything he said was complete fact. 

He wasn’t sure how to answer Magnus’ question. He had to do it easily he supposed, you can’t just go around telling magical warlocks and alpha werewolves that they’re merily fictional characters on a hit tv show. That was insensitive, and rude if being honest. 

But really there wasn’t another way to say it, being blunt was sometimes just the way to go. 

“Well that’s because in my world, not this one, she is a character. You’re all characters, and my friends and I play you on tv” He replied, sitting back into the couch, getting comfortable.

He realized he’d probably be here for a while. He sure hoped this universe had coffee, he was really needing some about now. 

Magnus decided to sit gracefully across from him in the big blue arm chair, and smiled. Luke still stood, but Jace walked over and got comfortable on the coffee table. He clasped his hands together and looked Matt over with a look of pure disgust. 

“What’s your name?” Clary asked, seemingly unaffected at all by Matthew’s earlier statements. 

Matt gave a lopsided smile and licked his lips. “Matthew Daddario, I play Alec Lightwood on Freeforms hit series Shadowhunters.. Which I was filming before I so graciously was sucked into another dimension by a portal. Not funny by the way” 

Magnus raised a brow in amusement, whereas Jace decided to get all pissy. 

“This guy is a lunatic. Madzie swapped him out for a defect, we have to get Alec back and fast” Jace demanded, and continued glaring. 

Two could play at that game, Matt thought. 

He crossed his arms, extremely offended. “Listen, cocky blonde, I’ll have you know that the only defect in this room, would be you Mr ‘ I’m so in love with my sister’. Also lunatic is not a nice word. Didn’t Maryse ever teach you manners? Sheesh people” 

Jace clapped his hands together in annoyance, and gave a pressed smile. 

“I thought Simon was a pest, you are a whole new level of annoying that I don’t want to deal with. Why don’t you just sit back and get comfortable, while we focus on trying to save my brother hmm? Stay out of trouble. Relax, and we’ll send your mundane ass back to whatever freakshow you got shit out of” Jace hissed.

“Stop it Ja-” started Clary, but was quickly caught off by a very frustrated Magnus. 

“I suggest you shut it golden boy” Magnus snapped in a low threatening voice, his fingers quickly covered in a crimson glow, as he scowled at the grumpy version of Dom. 

Matt could feel a fangirl attack hitting him hard. 

This magic wielder was wild as hell, the show should take some notes. The High Warlock of Brooklyn was intimidating. Clearly a man in charge, who wouldn’t allow these idiotic kids speak out of turn. 

It was mystifying to watch, Matt was honored to be in the same room as such a powerful being. 

The room was silent for a few lingering moments, before Jace sighed out loud and turned to face everyone. 

“We need a plan. “ He stressed with pleading eyes. 

“If Madzie accidentally tossed Alec in some other dimension, his time could be running out. What if he’s landed himself in some position where he could get hurt? Or worse? Magnus he’s my parabatai, I can still feel him. He’s scared” 

Magnus took a deep breath, and calmed himself. He closed his eyes tightly, as he appeared to think his options over. It was clear that he was worried, Jace was right. Alec could be in danger. Time was running out the longer they sat around bickering. 

Luke walked over, sensing his old friends inner turmoil, and placed a comforting hand on Magnus’ shoulder. “We’ll find him. I’ll drive Jace and Clary to the institute to look over footage and see if we can come across anything that could possibly help in the books. It’s all hands on deck until we get him home” Luke smiled, and Magnus nodded. 

“Right you are Lucien. I’ll portal to Catarina’s and question Madzie, see if she know’s where he could of ended up.” he frowned in reply.

Jace rose from his seat, and awkwardly gazed at clary. “You should uh, get back to Simon.” he muttered. “Don’t let him go getting any sunburns now that he’s a daylighter and stuff.” 

Clary pressed her lips into a smile, and began heading towards the door with Luke following swiftly behind. 

“What about me? What am I supposed to do?” Matt asked, noticing everyone leaving. 

Jace chuckled for the first time all night and shook his head. “We don’t have time to deal with any of your daddarioisms mundane. We have work to do, why don’t you be a good boy and stay out of the way” 

“JACE!” both Clary and Luke shouted in unison. 

“Coming!” Jace replied, sending a cocky wink to Matt, and finally removing himself from the loft. 

Magnus hummed, and sat down his glass. “Look’s like we’ve got some work to do Matthew.”

Matt perked up at the mention of his name, and watched the warlock curiously as he gracefully lifted up from his seat. 

“You’ll have to follow me whilst I begin my search for my darling Alexander, can’t have you wondering around freely in the loft. Too many potions and such you could hurt yourself with” Magnus sighed, but grinned mischievously. 

“Ready for an adventure little actor boy?” 

Matt stood up, his height making the comment seem ridiculous. 

“I’ve been ready” he smiled back. 

Magnus snapped his fingers creating a portal within seconds. It was so surreal up close, and he could feel a slight pull of electricity beckoning him forward. 

“This is going to be the best day of my life. Well, second best day. I got to name a cow once and that was pretty great.” he mumbled out loud, and Magnus snorted in amusement. 

“You're a strange one, aren’t you Mr. Daddario?” 

Matt threw his head back and laughed, scrunching up his nose adorably. 

“I’ve heard that once or twice.” he replied, as he followed Magnus Bane into a freaking portal. 

He was like a kid in candy store, screw the fancy coffee he left behind in the break room. 

Matt was in wonderland, might as well make the best of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tell me how ya like it! Love it? Hate it? 
> 
> Yell at me on tumblr : rosegoldhell


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off, a big freaking thank you to my new wonderful friend hrhjtinavj here on Ao3 for editing this, and helping me out so much. She's a wizard, truly. 
> 
> I hope you all enjoy! This fic is so fun to write, and i'm glad you all seem to be pleased with it :)

“Get your filthy hands off of me!” Alec shouted as the EMTs  tried to coax him into the ambulance. A trail of worried ‘cast members’ followed close behind, with worried expressions. 

 

They all refused to leave his side, which would’ve been flattering, if they didn’t all resemble his friends and family, but act like cheap knock off versions. They were insults to the people he knew and loved. Jace would want to punch himself if he could see the mundane airhead wearing his face. 

 

“Sir you hit your head, and your friends say that you’re acting delusional. We need to get you proper medical assistance” claimed a guy, whose nametag read ‘Mark’

 

Alec could only laugh. Was this shit really happening to him? 

 

Of all the things that could go wrong, it just had to be him that would end up in this situation. At this rate, Magnus was probably considering putting him a human leash to keep him out of trouble, if he ever made it home, that is. 

 

“Listen asshole, if I were to punch you in the head, I’m positive you’d be a little out of it too. I’m fine!” he demanded, trying so hard not to knock this guy’s teeth down his throat. 

 

Stupid mundanes. 

 

If only they knew who his boyfriend was. Magnus would have these sorry sacks of pissbrains portaled to Antarctica by now for laying a finger on him. 

 

Alec struggled out of their hold and was seconds away from drop kicking the man behind him, when a loud female voice caught his attention. 

 

“Matt! Babe, are you okay?” he heard, as he looked over to see a short brunette hurrying towards him. 

 

Fuck, his clone was straight? This was bad. 

 

Before he could even process an answer, the girl was pushing the overbearing medics out of the way, scrutinizing them for not doing as he had asked.  

 

“Did you not hear him? Back off, give him some space, you goons” she ordered, and instantly put both of her hands on Alec’s face. 

 

“Are you okay, babe?” she questioned, searching his body for damage. 

 

He had to give it to her, she was feisty. If he wasn’t so incredibly gay, he might even like her. But right now all he could think about was his boyfriend gagging at the scene before him, and that sent Alec into a frenzy. 

 

“I’m okay, yeah. Perfectly fine” he breathed out as he averted his eyes, avoiding eye contact with the worried girl. 

 

Jace - or weird, british guy - came up to the girl with a frown. 

“Hey Esther, I think he hurt himself pretty bad. He needs to go and make sure everything is okay” He insisted calmly. 

 

Alec was getting real tired of this guy by the second. Who did he think he was? Telling Alec what he should do, pshh. Alec usually didn’t even listen to Jace, what gave this guy the privilege? 

 

“Not happening. Just..Just take me home” he demanded, not even sure where home was exactly. 

 

He assumed he lived with the girl, since she seemed like the serious relationship type. Alec wasn’t too keen on leaving with Esther, but he definitely couldn’t take standing here any longer. He needed to escape, his brain was tired, and he missed his family. Alec was in need of a long ass nap, so he could later prepare a proper strategy to survive this stupid universe. 

 

Esther shook her head politely at Dom. “I think he just needs to lie down. If Matt knew he was hurt, he’d go, guys. He didn’t get much sleep last night after hanging out with Harry and Shelby, so I’m going to take him to the apartment to get some rest” she replied sweetly. 

 

Alec almost flinched when he felt Esther lace her fingers tightly with his, as they headed for what he presumed a motorized vehicle of sorts. He hoped he wasn’t expected to drive, because he knew he’d kill them both in a heartbeat. 

 

Esther was quiet, which he appreciated. Apparently this Matthew guy was straight, and that alone left him wanting to hurl. He prayed silently to the angel that Magnus and his family were working on a way to get him home. 

 

He couldn’t pull this off for long. Not without getting himself thrown into a psych ward. 

 

“So..how was.. y-your day, Esther?” he tried, attempting to sound normal. It didn’t work. Alec was clueless. 

 

Esther turned her head to look over her shoulder, peering at the group they had left behind. 

 

“Just shut up, and keep walking” she whisper shouted, and Alec’s eye’s went wide, a million thoughts floating threw his head. 

 

“Um, excuse me?” he questioned, fearing an answer. Was Matthew into some weird dom/sub shit? Alec wouldn’t be able to handle that. He barely knew how to handle a regular relationship. He didn’t know the first thing about… BDSM? He’d run into street traffic before doing kinky sex stuff with a female he didn’t even know.

 

“Shut up till we get into the car, or are you trying to out yourself?” she asked incredulously. 

 

Oh. 

 

That was a relief, and yet still immensely terrifying. 

 

Alec, of course, did what she asked, fearing the outcome. 

 

They both got into an old style hot rod, Esther in the driver’s seat, Alec - thankfully - riding shotgun. 

 

She didn’t say much at first. She just started the car, pulled down her sunshades and handed a pair to Alec. He assumed they were Matt’s and tried to casually slide them on without a fuss, hoping he didn’t look too out of place. Alec watched Esther curiously as she plopped a piece of bubblegum into her mouth. Esther pulled into the street and drove for a few minutes before tentatively breaking the silence. 

 

“So, are you an alien or something?” she finally asked, leaving Alec to sputter in shock. 

 

“What?! No, of course not!” he replied, a little too loudly. Esther peered at him through her sunglasses, her jaw clenched. 

 

“Listen, I know you aren’t my boyfriend. Matt is a strange individual, and you clearly are not him. So please, tell me now. Did you kill the love of my life so you could wear his meat suit while you plan world domination? I kinda need to know.” Esther deadpanned.

 

Alec couldn’t do anything but stare at this woman with wide eyes, his mouth agape. Was she serious? Was this a normal thing mundanes randomly accused people of? 

 

This universe was getting more messed up by the second. 

 

Was it a bad time to want to throw himself into ongoing traffic?

 

“My name is Alec.” he replied, unsure of how to respond to this...accusation?

 

Alec watched dubiously as a wide grin broke out on Esther’s face. She laughed and started looking Alec up and down, shaking her head in disbelief. 

 

“Oh my god! Alec Lightwood! Matt plays you on TV!” she shrieked, her eyes still on Alec. Her excitement would’ve probably flattered him if he wasn’t so worried about dying in this mundane universe…  _in a mundane car._

 

“C-could you please keep your eyes on the road” he stuttered, unsure of how exactly these things worked, but still terribly worried. 

 

“I am an excellent driver thank you very much.” Esther huffed indignantly. 

 

“Yeah, well, I’m pretty fantastic at shooting arrows, but if my attention is elsewhere during a fight, it's 7/10 chance that I’m going to get myself killed.” he hissed, eyes still wide and on the road.

 

Esther seemed pleased with his answer, and turned her eyes back to the road. “Touche,” she mumbled. 

 

Esther’s calm exterior and nonchalance concerned Alec. While a part of him was definitely thankful for an ally in this strange new world, he still didn’t understand what was happening. He had someone to talk to, but this world didn’t seem custom to strange happenings frequently. It was odd. 

 

“Why aren’t you freaking out?” he questioned, trying to fill the silence, even though he was still uncomfortable. 

 

Esther laughed and shook her head. “Oh, I’m freaking out. I’m terrified. Matt could be hurt if he ended up where you’re from - or having the time of his life, who knows really, with that man.” a fond smile on her face. “But you,” Esther directed her attention back onto Alec. “You’re probably more terrified, and I know you won’t admit that due to your whole Shadowhunter background thing.” She sighed, and gave Alec an apologetic look. 

 

She was right on one thing: he was terrified. Alec didn’t know if he was ever going to see his family or Magnus ever again. He didn’t even know how dimension travel worked, much less anything about swapping places with an alternative version of yourself. 

 

That wasn’t taught in Idris; at least, in not any class he’d attended. 

 

“I need to get home.” he said out loud. His voice was quiet and his eyes were sad. Esther felt a pang in her chest tried to comfort the lost boy in her car. 

 

“We can’t do much on our end, unfortunately. This world is full of just regular people, who use show’s like Shadowhunters to escape from reality.” she explained, casting little worried glances in Alec’s direction. “I’m sure Magnus is on the other side, working his butt off to find you. Hopefully, he brings my Matty home too. Until then, I’m here for you. We’ll get through this together, Alec. You aren’t alone.” Esther reached over squeezed Alec’s hand, trying to channel as much support as she could into a little hand hug.  

 

Alec turned his head towards her, his lips curving into a small smile. “You know, you aren’t so bad. For a girl, that is, I’m glad this weird, mundane, straight version of me has you.” Was that even a compliment? He didn’t know. Alec had never been the best with words, so he smiled and hoped that Esther understood his sentiment. 

 

Esther giggled and rolled her eyes. “We’re definitely going to have to teach you a thing or two, Lightwood. Especially if you want to pass as the infamous Matthew Daddario. You have fans, friends, family, and cast members to convince, so we’d better start practicing.” she smirked, and Alec felt his stomach churn. 

 

“I can’t just hide at your place until I get rescued?”

 

“Of course not!” Esther insisted. “He’s filming right now, and this job means a lot to him. He would be devastated something screwed this up for him. Not because of the money or whatever crazy shit  tabloids come up with, but for the fans. He really cares about them and puts so much effort into playing your character right. He works his ass off to get it right, and that shouldn’t go to waste. I won’t let it happen.” she said with determination. “Please, I know it won’t be easy, but you’re gonna have to take his place until we get the real Matthew back.” she stressed. 

 

By now, they had pulled up to a fairly large apartment complex and Esther was searching for a place to park the car. 

 

Alec gulped as he felt a rush of icy panic flood through his body. He couldn’t pretend to be someone else! Hell, he was barely good at handling himself. 

 

Matt was an actor, who apparently played him on tv. How on earth was Alec suppose to fake that?

 

Was Alec Lightwood, going to have to play Alec Lightwood? 

 

This was a disaster. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yell at me on tumblr: rosegoldhell (goldenmythologies can no longer be accessed) 
> 
> don't yell at my friend/beta: unorthodoxpartofyourworld (follow her, she's great!)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First, and foremost, a HUGE thank you to my lovely beta/co-writer hrhjtinavj here on Ao3 (unorthodoxpartofyourworld on tumblr) She is amazing! A true writing wizard :)
> 
> This chapter is massive!! Hope you all enjoy <3

The world distorted and Matt’s stomach twisted as his body was swept into a vortex of magic. He felt like he was in a clothes dryer, or the world’s craziest rollercoaster. His head was spinning and his stomach kept dropping and then suddenly leaping into his throat. Unfortunately for Matthew, unlike the comfort of being strapped in on a rollercoaster, the portal made his limbs stretch and splay out. 

 

It was exhilarating. 

 

He probably should’ve been terrified, but he kept his hands firmly attached to Magnus’ shoulders, which kept him steady and grounded in the whirlwind of magnetic energy perfectly laced with Magnus’ magic. The air whooshed around them as the warlock expertly navigated them back to solid ground. 

 

When they stepped out of the portal, Matt stumbled forward, hands on his trembling knees, breathing heavily. He knew that portals were disorienting, but he never truly realized how much. The short trip had taken an unsuspecting toll on Matthew's body, impairing his breathing and overall control of his frame. He related to Simon so much more now. 

 

His legs felt like jello and his skin felt like it had been zapped with an electric current, raising tiny goosebumps over his entire body. After a few seconds, he righted himself and laughed in amazement. 

 

“That was.. That was amazing.” he breathed out excitedly, a dopey lopsided smile resting on his face, right arm clutched tightly against his abdomen. 

 

Magnus snorted in disbelief and rolled his golden eyes as he snapped the shimmering portal out of existence with one fluid motion of his hands. “You can barely stand, Matthew.” Magnus smirked, clearly amused by the taller man's reaction. 

 

“Yeah, I feel like shit, but that was awesome!” He ran his hands through his hair, grinning wider than Magnus thought was possible. 

_So that's what Alexander would look like, worry free,_ he thought with a sad smile. He sighed, already missing his boyfriend, before turning his attention back to the rambling, ecstatic lookalike.

 

“Oh man, Harry's going to be so jealous. We can do it again, right? For science, of course.” Matt asked, earning him a chuckle from the warlock. 

 

Magnus looked down at his hands, playing with his ringed clad fingers. “Who's Harry?” he questioned innocently in a quiet tone. “Your boyfriend?” 

 

Matt gasped, part offended, part embarassed. “What? No, god, he’s married! Harry is one of my castmates. Actually, he plays you on Shadowhunters. He’s one of the seven main characters, and one of my closest friends.” Matt explained with a nostalgic smile.

 

Magnus, intrigued, opened his mouth to voice his thoughts on the newfound information, when a loud, heavy door slammed open. 

 

Both of their heads snapped towards the direction of the noise and Matt watched a beautiful woman with periwinkle skin and ghostly white hair storm into the room, lavender colored magic swirling violently at the tips of her fingers. 

 

“Magnus Bane!” she shouted angrily. “You scared the hell out of me, don’t you own a phone? I could have blown your head off!” she roared, causing Magnus to scrunch up his nose. 

 

“My darling Catarina, I do apologize for the scare, but I’m afraid it’s an emergency.” he replied, holding up his hands in mock surrender. Catarina’s eye widened as she rushed towards Magnus.  She was by his side in an instant, her hands clasped on either side of the high warlock’s face, concern spreading along her delicate features. 

 

“What happened?” she asked, searching his person for any signs of damage, and breathing out a sigh of relief when she found nothing. “And who’s this?” she questioned curiously, nodding in Matt’s direction. 

 

Matt stood there awkwardly, a little bewildered by the sight of the other warlock. He was familiar with her character from the books, but they hadn’t yet featured her on the show. And honestly? They should get on that. 

_This lady was cool as hell,_ Matt thought to himself silently. 

 

It wasn’t everyday you got to see a magical being with bright blue skin. 

 

She was beautiful. 

 

“That is actually the reason I’m here. Catarina, this is - “ Magnus started, but was cut off by  little Madzie joining them in the living room, nearly tripping over her own feet as she ran towards Matt. 

 

“Alec, you’re safe!” she shouted, throwing her tiny arms around Matt’s legs. She was so little compared to him and was dressed head to toe in a frog onesie. Matt knelt down so he was eye level with the little warlock and smiled brightly.  

 

Magnus chose that moment to bend down to the little girl’s height with a frown. “Sweetpea, I’m afraid that this isn’t our dearest Alexander.” he said cautiously, and held out his hand beckoning for her to come closer. 

 

Madzie’s forehead crinkled and her little eyebrows came together in confusion as she looked between Matt and Magnus with apprehensive eyes. Her eyes landed on Matt’s neck - rather, the lack of Alec’s signature block/deflect neck rune - and gasped, backing away, eyes wide with fear.

 

“Wha- what do you mean?” she asked, her voice small, like she was afraid to know the answer. She probably was and Matt’s entire 6’3 body was ridden with guilt and sympathy for this scared little girl. 

 

Matt knew her story - or at least he hoped he did. He still wasn’t quite sure how much of the TV verse was aligned with this one, but clearly Madzie was attached to Alec, and Matt wasn’t Alec. He knew enough to infer that this child had been through hell and he felt the need at least try to comfort her. He smiled his friendliest smile and reached out carefully, holding his hand open in front of the little warlock. 

 

“Hi Madzie, I’m Matt,” he says softly. “It’s really nice to meet you, I’ve heard a lot about you. Can we be friends?” The little girl shifted her gaze to Magnus and Catarina, who both smiled and nodded. 

 

Madzie, still visibly shook, stepped forward and placed her small hand in Matthew’s. He smiled and continued. “I know you’ve been through a lot recently and I know you're scared. Being a kid is tough, you gotta deal with a lot of stuff. Especially with how cool you are, yeah, that must be pretty hard, huh?” he rambled a bit, feeling nervous all of a sudden. “But, hey, don’t worry, Madzie. I’m sure Alec is fine and Mr. Fancy Wizard and Miss Cool Blue Lady are going to get him back, safe and sound. Alec’s a pretty tough guy, and these two,” he gestured to the two warlocks watching the exchange with interest. “Well, they’re pretty strong too. And they’re definitely going to make sure he comes home.” Matt squeezed Madzie’s hand and smiled as he watched fear slowly recede from her eyes.  

 

Magnus’ face softened and Catarina beamed at the scene unfolding before them. 

 

Madzie looked deep in thought for a few seconds before throwing herself into Matt’s embrace, cuddling close to him and seeking comfort. Matt, still balancing precariously on the balls of his feet, was almost knocked over and breathed out a laugh as he wrapped his arms around her. He held onto her tightly as the two older warlocks both stood by, watching with affectionate smiles on their faces. 

 

“That’s the cutest thing I’ve seen in quite some time.” Catarina cooed, and Magnus nodded in agreement. 

 

“I can’t wait to see how my Alexander interacts with her. According to Madzie they are already well-acquainted. I might die, Cat. Die from utter adorableness overload.” Magnus proclaimed dramatically, as he snapped four mugs of steaming hot cocoa onto the coffee table. 

 

\---

 

After calming Madzie down, the two older warlocks began the painfully slow process of questioning the child on how she managed to swap Alec out for a mundane version. Madzie - as cute as she was - was proving to be just as clueless as the rest of them. Despite her power, she had very little training, and at her age, Magnus and Catarina had no idea if she even knew how to identify what spells she was using. They had been at it for well over an hour with no results, cocoa cups long forgotten and leaving rings on the table. 

 

Matt, on the other hand, was feeling restless and couldn’t stand sitting around anymore. He needed to stretch his legs. 

 

He stood up, silently excusing himself back to the living room and reached his arms over his head, extending his spine and breathing out all the stress that had accumulated there over the past few hours. After shaking himself out a few times, he opened his eyes and looked around the room, allowing himself to fully take in his surroundings. 

 

Dark red Victorian style curtains covered the long window panes overlooking a city of lights. 

 

Matt recognized some of the buildings and felt a little better knowing that he was still in his home city - even if he was in an alternate universe. 

 

The interior was classic and timeless, with cream-colored walls, elegant hardwood floors, a high ceiling and soft drop lights. However, the most prominent aspect of the apartment was the sheer number of books. The apartment was littered with stacks upon stacks of varying leather bound books. They cluttered the shelves of the two chestnut bookcases, spilled onto a luxurious dark wood desk, and continued in piles along the floor. Matt grinned, impressed. Catarina had already proven herself to be a highly educated woman and this was just the icing on the cake. 

 

He walked over, eyeing the titles and running his fingers over the spines of books older than he was. His eyes settled on an armoire about as tall as he stood, filled with obscure objects, some of which he’d never seen before. There was everything from early 1920’s medical tools, to various jarred specimens and Victorian era apothecary sets. 

 

He was intrigued to say the least. 

 

Matt turned his attention back to the bookshelves, deciding not to mess with artifacts - they were actual historical artifacts! - he knew nothing about. He looked for a title he was familiar with, picking up 

_Cyrano de Bergerac_ by Edmond Rostand, a story of romance, bravery and heartbreak. It was a beautiful play written in late 1890s and Matt was stunned to see it in its native language and in pristine condition. It seemed to be an original copy and Matthew had to contain his inner fangirl as he flipped through the pages with newfound reverence. He remembered reading it during college, and fell in love with it instantly. 

 

“You know it well?” questioned Magnus, as he came to stand beside Matt. 

 

Matt looked up and grinned again, nodding his head enthusiastically. “It was written in 1897 - but I suppose you knew that,” Matt smirked at the warlock before turning his eyes back to the crisp pages. “It’s a beautiful classic. The ending is bittersweet, but it’s one of my favorites. I’m guessing you’ve read it? Being old as hell, and all.” he chuckled, earning himself a playful glare. 

 

“I have, in fact.” Magnus shared, lightly taking the book from Matthew's hands. He flipped through the pages fondly, before looking back up at Matt. “Actually, I was there on December 28th, 1897, the opening night for this play. Catarina and I went to see it together, along with our friend, Ragnor. It was beautiful and we were still applauding an hour after the curtain fell. There’s nothing quite like the theatre in Paris.” Magnus’ smile was nostalgic and Matt wondered what it must’ve been like to see the original performance of one of his favorite plays. 

 

Magnus snapped out of his trip down memory lane and closed the book carefully, lovingly stroking the spine before returning  _Cyrano de Bergerac_

to it’s rightful place among the scattering piles. He  crossed his arms over his chest protectively, sighed, and looked up at Matt with forlorn eyes.

 

“How’s it going in there, by the way?” Matt gestured to the kitchen, where Catarina was still talking to Madzie. “Making any headway on the portal front?” he tried to look hopeful, but from the way Magnus was acting, he knew that there wasn’t much to celebrate.

 

“Unfortunately, no.” the warlock’s lips pressed into a thin line as he tightened his arms around himself and looked at the floor, touching his bottom lip in worry. “Madzie doesn’t remember - or rather, she can’t identify what spell or magic she used to send Alexander into your universe. What’s more baffling is that we don’t understand how she reached into your universe and pulled you out. All she really remembered was wanting to protect Alec. She must’ve channeled that concern into magic and pushed it out… which is the most difficult kind of magic to decrypt because it’s solely based on feeling. She’s a very powerful young warlock.” Magnus’ voice had adopted an almost monotone quality as he informed Matt of their progress - or, lack of - so far. 

 

Matt knew that the warlock was disappointed by Madzie’s inability to remember how she created the mysterious portal. He wasn’t entirely sure how much of what he knew about this universe was accurate, but he knew that Madzie had dealt with more than her fair share of hard times. The little girl had lived a life of lies, being robbed of a family by Iris’s baby-breeding agenda, and more recently, being manipulated by a murdering psychopath. Alec Lightwood was probably one of Madzie’s first real experiences with genuine kindness. Matt knew that the thought of losing him forever was eating away at her. 

 

As for the centuries old warlock standing next to him, Magnus was no better. He looked lost, concern and fear written all over his face. Even though he was more powerful than most of his kind, he seeped vulnerability. 

 

Matt didn’t know what to do or how to offer any comfort. He was just enjoying the experience, holding onto the hope that, like every story, the heroes would succeed and find a way to get him back home and bring his shadowhunting doppleganger back to his home. Matt reached out and squeezed Magnus’ shoulder, channeling all the support he could.

 

“Hey, Mr. Fancy Warlock, last I checked, you’re the High Warlock of Brooklyn and we New Yorkers take Brooklyn very seriously. Let me tell you something, okay?” Matt’s hazel eyes met Magnus’ amused ones as his New York accent slipped out.

 

“Two rules, Magnus. Number one, always root for the Mets. Number two, we fight tooth and nail, but we don’t give up until we get what we came for. It seems hard right now, I know that. I know. And I know that things aren’t really, well, they’re not looking the brightest right now, but hey, look at me. I have complete faith in you, Catarina, Madzie, the shadowhunters, lil’ miss redhead, and even the vampire. Because I watch you guys on TV, hell, I play Alec Lightwood, so I know, _I know_

that it’ll all work out, Magnus. Don’t give up hope, because I’m sure as hell that Alec hasn’t given up hope yet. He’s probably working his ass off to get back to you. I’m sure Alec is out there in my world missing you just as much as you miss him. He doesn’t know what he’s doing half the time - take it from me, I play the guy - but one thing he knows for sure is that he loves you. It’s the only thing he’s ever sure of.” Matt finished his little speech and tried to gauge the warlock’s reaction, hoping to ease the other man’s turmoil. 

 

Magnus finally smiled, a real smile, and the stress melted off his shoulders, his glamour flickering back on like an armor guarding his emotions. “That’s very kind to say Matt, thank you.” he replied, giving a pressed smile. 

 

At that moment, Catarina entered the living room, followed by a downtrodden Madzie. She looked at Magnus and shook her head sadly. Magnus’ shoulders drooped ever so slightly and he ran a hand over his face. However, after a few seconds, he straightened up, pasted on a smile, and turned to Catarina and Madzie. 

 

“Rule number one of being a New Yorker, darling, always root for the Mets.” he threw a grin over his shoulder at Matt as he bent down to boop Madzie’s nose. “Rule number two is to never give up. We’re going to bring him home, sweetpea.” Madzie smiled; Magnus gave her an eskimo kiss and hugged her before rising to give Catarina a peck on the cheek.

 

“Well, it’s been fun, my darlings, but I should be off. I have thousands of books and spells to work through, so we can bring our dear Alexander home.” he said, waving his hand around with his usual dramatic flourish. 

 

Matt strode over to Catarina and held out his hand to thank her, but she pulled him in for a hug. “We’ll get you home, Matthew. Have faith.” she assured him. Matt thanked her and knelt to give Madzie a hug. She was still a little hesitant, but threw her arms around him anyways. 

 

“Matt.” she stated, pointing at his bare neck. 

 

“Yup, I’m Matt. I’m your friend.” he added, dropping a kiss onto the little girl’s brown hair before turning to stand behind Magnus. “Maybe we’ll see each other again, Madzie.” he waved to Madzie, earning him a small smile in return. 

 

Magnus held up his hand, creating another portal in the center of the foyer, beckoning Matt to follow him through. 

 

“Hopefully, I won’t get sick again!” he whooped, as he resumed his death grip on Magnus’ shoulders. He gave himself a short mental pep talk and stepped into the portal with Magnus, holding his breath. 

 

\---

 

They’d gotten back from Catarina’s pretty late and Magnus had ushered him into the guest bedroom, insisting that he’d be more use to him well-rested and that he would be no use to him if he couldn’t read old warlock spell books. Matt took one look at the books that Magnus had laid out and agreed wholeheartedly. He tried to sleep, but ended up overthinking and looping through plausible scenarios through his head. 

 

At about 4 am, after fitful and tumultuous sleep, he headed to the kitchen to grab himself some water when he came across Magnus asleep on the couch, books strewn around him and a picture of Alec clutched tightly in his hand.

 

Matt’s heart went out to the poor warlock and he pulled out his wallet to look at a picture of his family, and of Esther. Despite the fun he was having, he missed his world terribly. He pressed a kiss to his parents, his sisters, and the love of his life, and returned his wallet to his pocket. 

 

Turning his attention back to Magnus, he tiptoed over to the touch and gently shook the warlock awake. 

 

“Magnus? Hey, buddy, it’s like 4 am. You should go get some rest.” Matt prodded, and the warlock’s eyes opened blearily at first, and closed again. After a second, however, they shot open and Magnus jumped off of the couch. 

 

“Alexander?” he asked, ridiculously hopeful with so much love in his eyes that it broke Matthew’s heart. 

 

“Um… no, I’m sorry. It’s me, Matt.” he admitted, scratching the back of his neck. Matt watched as the hope in the warlock’s eyes died and his shoulders sagged as if they were carrying the weight of the world. 

 

“Thank you, Matthew, for waking me up. I should retire, see you in the morning.” Magnus muttered, too distraught to fake a smile. He picked up his photo of Alec and trudged to his room, leaving Matt standing alone with a heavy heart and a suddenly too-warm glass of water. 

\---

 

Matt woke up the next day to the smell of coffee lingering in the crisp morning air. For a second, he was caught off guard, taking in his new surroundings in confusion. However, sure enough, the memories of the previous day flooded back and Matt groaned out loud. He rolled over and closed his eyes clicking his heels together three times and wishing he were home. He peeked out of one eye, sighing when he saw the warlock’s modern taupe ceiling.

 

_ Well, it was worth a shot. _

 

Matt let out a lion’s yawn and started getting ready for today’s adventure. 

 

Matt entered the kitchen and was met with the sight of Magnus sitting quietly at the dining table, scribbling down notes, as he looked over an ancient looking book of magic. 

 

Matt cleared his throat, causing to warlock to whip his head up, startled out of his peaceful rhythm. 

 

Magnus was kind enough to conjure him up some food and Matt was pleasantly surprised to see Panera bread’s cinnamon crunch bagel alongside a variety of options that his stomach grumbled at the sight of. 

 

“I’m going to assume that the food is alright, then?” Magnus asked in lieu of saying good morning, bemused by Matt’s stomach’s demanding growls. 

 

“This is fantastic, thank you, Magnus.” Matt replied, picking up a bagel and starting his breakfast as Magnus smiled, picked up a book, and began to read. 

 

After a few minutes of nothing but the sound of Matt chewing, Matt broke the silence. 

 

“So… how’s the research coming? Is there anything I can do to help?” he asked. Magnus looked up from his book, his face tinged with slight annoyance.

 

“Matthew, I’m sorry. I haven’t found much on the subject, but I am searching, as is Catarina and a few other friends who I’ve called in favors with. As for you helping, I’m afraid that there’s not much you can do. Not being from this universe and being a mundane yourself -  there’s not much insight you can offer and you’ve already told us everything you know, which, admittedly, isn’t much.” Magnus ran a hand over his tired face, a gesture that Matt was beginning to associate with muted anger, anxiety, and heavy concern. “But of course, you’re welcome to stay in the loft and entertain yourself. I have every channel on TV, courtesy of myself, of course.” he smirked as he gestured to the foyer 

 

And that’s how Matt finally caught up on Narcos, a TV show that he’d originally started watching with Esther, but he ended up falling behind due to his hectic schedule. Matt wasn’t an avid tv watcher; he prefered listening to audiobooks while working out or spending his free time out exploring. Nevertheless, given his present state, letting himself get lost in a universe that wasn’t about angels, demons, nephilim, warlocks, and… everything else was exactly what he needed. 

 

Just as he was entering his third hour of being a couch potato, he heard Magnus’ chair scrape and clatter to the floor, followed by a groan of frustration. Magnus marched into the foyer and sat in front of Matt, eyes wide and frantic. 

 

“What do you remember? Because I don’t understand how Madzie could’ve done what she did. I don’t understand where you came from. This is so frustrating!” Magnus grimaced, rubbing his temples in agitation. 

 

Matt straightened up and tried to remember what he’d felt going through the portal. “I…I don’t remember much. It just felt like I’d been sucked up and dumped here. And well, you know the rest from there.” he shrugged unhelpfully, wishing he knew more. 

 

Magnus leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, taking a few deep breaths. “I am sorry. It’s not fair for me to be snapping at you when this isn’t your fault. It’s just frustrating to see the man I love and then realize that you’re not him.” a bittersweet smile graced Magnus’ face. “It must be difficult on you, actually, more than any of us.” He faced Matt with kind eyes and gestured for him to speak.

 

“Ah yes, well… I mean, I don’t know. I’m living in a universe that I could only dream of before, with magic and angels and literally something out of a fantasy TV show. I went through a fucking portal yesterday, I mean, I was ecstatic.” Matt began, trying to add some humor to the moment, but he failed.

 

“In all honesty, I’m telling you, you folks make a really big deal about mundanes being so useless and out of it. I’m tellin’ ya, I would give anything to go back to my mundane life. I miss my mom, my sisters, my whole family honestly. And my girlfriend. I miss her more than I can say. This little adventure has been fun, ridiculously so, but I mean, all good things must come to an end, right? I’d like to return to my loved ones soon, if possible, which I hope to God it is.” Matt pleaded, all traces of amusement gone from his usually jovial voice. He looked up to meet Magnus’ eyes, and was met with a raised brow on a confused warlock. 

 

“You’re straight?” he asked, comically surprised. 

 

Matt honest to God giggled at the incredulity of that statement. He nodded his head between laughs, eyes squinting at Magnus’ expression. 

 

“Wait..you’ve just learned that your boyfriend was switched out with some actor guy from a parallel universe, who plays your boyfriend on a low budget television show about your lives in a mundane universe, and the part that shocks you is that I’m straight?” Matthew guffawed, his shoulders shaking. He wasn’t offended, but he couldn’t stop laughing at the fact that the great Magnus Bane can take alternate universes in stride, but his sexual orientation is what left the warlock shocked. 

 

“Alec is gay” Magnus stated, unsure of how to handle the 29 year old man reduced to giggles on his couch. . 

 

“Yes, he’s very gay.” Matt laughed, catching his breath. “Especially for you. He thinks you are ‘quite magical,’ after all, but I just play Alec on TV. We’re actually completely different. He’s grumpy - well, actually, no. Alec is not grumpy, he’s just… he’s got a lot of problems in his life,” Matt amended.

 

“But I mean, truth be told, Alec can be a bit annoying, emotionally stunted, generally has a stick up his ass, and truly doesn’t know what he’s doing most of the time. Plainly speaking, the guy's a mess. No offense, of course.” Matt shot a smile at Magnus, whose face had lit up at the no-nonsense, sparknotes description of his boyfriend. 

 

Magnus snorted, and shook his head. “My dearest boyfriend has his issues, but I..I love him” he admitted, smiling to himself. Matt smiled too. Seeing Magnus and experiencing the love he had for Alec firsthand made Matt even prouder to be playing such an important character on TV. If he ever got home, he promised himself that he would continue pushing himself and giving his best to do this couple justice. 

 

“On the other hand, I, Matthew Daddario, like cows, pumpki - ” Matt didn’t get to finish his introduction because just then, the doors to the loft came tumbling open as Jace, Clary, and Simon came trotting inside unannounced, making Magnus grumble loudly. He rolled his eyes, an action that he must’ve picked up from Alec - king of sass and eyerolls - Matt thought, bemused. 

 

Matt turned to face the intruders and rolled his eyes too because, well, when you play Alec long enough, the eyerolls become a habit. 

 

Jace opened his mouth to say something, but Matt cut him off sharply. “Man, can’t you guys knock? I mean, this is getting ridiculous. How many times have you ruined the mood for Malec, hmm? Come on, golden boy, what are you doing? This is getting kind of irritating - I can say that because I play Alec on TV and even when I’m  _acting_

, I get a little irritated.” Matt turned to Magnus for approval. “I mean, come on, aren’t you sick of them  _not even knocking?_

Where are your manners, kids? Didn’t your mother teach you any better?” Matt asked, then backtracked immediately, remembering exactly who he was talking to.

 

“Well, scratch that. I’m your mother, I’m telling you to learn some manners. Rule number one, fucking knock!” Matt finished with a smirk. 

 

“Oh my god, you guys weren’t kidding.” Simon whispered, ignoring Magnus’ annoyed expression and plopping down in front of the two men. 

 

“You know,” Magnus began. “Matthew here isn’t wrong about knocking. It’s usually a good idea to  _knock_

instead of barge in and ask favors.” Magnus remarked, voice dripping with sarcasm. 

 

Jace looked down and scratched the back of his neck, still in a little shock from Matt’s lecture, but embarrassed nonetheless. “Um, yes, well... “ he cleared his throat. “It was an emergency, but yeah it’s pretty rude. I’m sorry…” Jace trailed off, unsure how to finish.

 

Matt smirked. “Yeah, you see how he didn’t promise to not do it again? Because, unfortunately, it will probably happen again. Sorry, man.” Matt patted Magnus’ shoulder in solidarity and Magnus snorted, throwing a playful glare at Jace, who was still flustered.

 

“I’m Simon, which I guess you already know ‘cause according to Clary, we are all characters in a tv show!” said the vampire excitedly, as Jace groaned in the background. 

 

Matt laughed, and heard Simon gasp. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Alec smile this much. Or, I mean-” he smacked his forehead loudly. “Ah, I mean it’s weird seeing Alec’s face laughing! Because, you know. Alec…. He doesn’t smile or laugh much. You seem like a very nice man, comparatively,” Simon rambled, before Jace cut him off. Matt turned his amused expression on to the blond boy, who was tittering with agitation.  

  
“We aren’t here to learn about the other universe Simon,” Jace growled, eyes not leaving Matthew’s. “We’re here to protect Alec’s ass until we can get him back.” Jace glowered, causing Matt to roll his eyes. 

 

“Lighten up, Texas boy.” he drawled. “You’re honestly more uptight than Alec is sometimes. Also, damn son, you-”

 

“Texas boy?” Clary interrupted, and honestly Matt had to roll his eyes again. As much as he loved Kat, Clary always grated on his nerves. As to whether that was because he saw her from Alec’s perspective or because he just didn’t like her, Matt didn’t know and didn’t care. 

 

“Ah, my mistake!” he exclaimed with exaggerated cheer. “You see, the guy who plays Jace in my universe - my real life parabatai,” Matt smirked when he saw the confusion on their faces. “Well, he’s from Texas, but he always speaks in a British accent. God knows why,” Matt rolled his eyes dramatically. “It’s ever so irritating.”

 

Simon grinned and turned to Jace and Clary with a goofy smile pasted on his face. “Can we keep him? I like this one!” he joked.

 

“Simon, shut up! We’re here to protect Alec, not bond with skinny ass actors-” Jace began, simpering at Matt’s affronted glare.  Matthew was tired of this broody asshole and was seconds away from begging Magnus to jettison the grumpy version of Dom into space. 

 

“Protect Alec? What the hell are you talking about?” Magnus interrupted, his voice laced with worry. 

 

Clary reached out to him, grabbing Magnus’ hand in hers. “Maryse is requesting Alec to come back to the Institute immediately.” she explained, glancing awkwardly at Matt. 

 

“We can’t stall,” Jace barked. 

 

Matt watched the blond boy with amusement shining in his eyes. Now, _this was entertainment._

 

“The mundane is going to have to come with us to prevent anything from looking suspicious. We don’t need The Clave finding out about this… screw-up,” Jace glared at Matt, who responded by pointing at himself with wide eyes, in mock distress. “...and possibly going after Madzie.” Jace turned his attention back to Magnus, purposely ignoring Matt’s antics. 

 

Magnus, on the other hand, was vehemently against the plan. “No.” he stated, in a quiet, dangerous voice. “We also can’t have Matthew being outed, which could lead to an even worse outcome. That is too dangerous. You could all get into serious trouble! That’s not a risk that I am willing to take.” Magnus leveled Jace with a glare that rivaled Maryse Lightwood’s. 

 

“It’s not a risk for you to take!” Jace argued, balling his hands into fists. 

 

“I said no. Matthew is not to be put into danger. If something happens to him here, we don’t know what will happen to Alec.” Magnus said, his voice still the calm of the storm. Matt leaned in and rested his chin on his hands… this was about to get interesting. 

 

“He is MY brother, my parabatai, and I know what is best for him!” Jace retorted, not backing down. 

 

Magnus’ eyes flashed golden for a brief second and the tension in the room built significantly. Matt watched as Jace and Magnus began to argue back in fourth, each with equally good supporting arguments. Simon and Clary had their lips pressed into straight lines, looking at each other with perturbed expressions.

 

As entertained as he was initially, Matt knew that this was going overboard. He had to do something. After all, Matt was an actor. Although he might not be the infamous Alec Lightwood, he knew the character like the back of his hand. 

 

Matt took a few deep breaths and focused on Alec - his characteristics, his traits, and his mannerisms.   _I can do this. I can be Alec Lightwood for a day. It's kind of already my job,_  Matt thought to himself. 

 

Matt stood up, clasping his hands together tightly behind his back and voided his face of any and all emotion. He strung his shoulders tight and kept a soldier-like stance. Focusing on Alec, he opened his eyes; Alec wasn’t that complex to mimic.

 

“Enough!” He demanded, voice booming and a few notches deeper, causing both Jace and Magnus to stop their loud bickering and turn to his direction. Magnus was looking at him with interest and surprise written all over his face, while Jace’s eyebrows were up so high, they were barely touching his forehead anymore. Simon looked… confused, and Clary was chewing her bottom lip.

 

Generally, Matt would have a shit-eating grin on his face at his success, but Alec? Alec would scowl because they started arguing in the first place. So, Matt scowled. 

 

“Jace is right.” Matt gagged internally, because  _how irritating were those words._

He knew that Alec loved Jace and that Jace loved Alec, but meeting Jace up close and personal was grating on Matt’s last nerve. “The Institute was just attacked, and it’s all hands on deck.” he continued, raking a withering glare over all of them. “We don’t need Aldertree getting suspicious and breathing down our necks, we’ve got enough trouble to deal with as it is.” he stated, making Clary gasp and Magnus raise both brows, clearly impressed.

 

“...Alec?” Clary asked, softly. Matt let his inner Alec take over and rolled his eyes into the back of his head. He ignored her question, casting a scathing glance at her and shaking his head.

 

Jace, however, remained quiet, his mouth hanging open slightly, whereas Simon had the most dorky grin forming on his face. 

 

Simon jumped out of his seat, gesticulating widely. “Holy shit dude, you just totally morphed into Alec! You even got his whole ‘I hate everyone’ face down pretty well. I am impressed. Kudos to you, sir!” he praised with a wide smile and Matt rolled his eyes, pretending to be annoyed.

 

“Who gave the vampire permission to speak?” he questioned in montone, not even sparing Simon a glance, causing Jace to actually snort. 

 

“I think.. he might just pull it off” Clary chuckled, in awe, before kissing away Simon’s offended frown. 

 

Witnessing their kiss made Matt wanted to roll his eyes again. It was one thing to watch Alberto and Kat on set, but actually experiencing Climon was spectacularly irritating. 

 

He was beginning to understand  _why_ Alec was the king of sass and eyerolls. In this universe… who wouldn’t be. Matt itched to blurt out everything he knew about the future of the two love birds. Especially considering that Simon was technically supposed to be with  _Isabelle_  Yet, Matt decided against it. 

_Bigger fish to fry today_ ,  he thought.  _I am so not getting involved with this one._

He’d let them screw up their friendship on their own accord. Alec Lightwood had more important matters to attend to. 

 

Magnus crossed his arms, and bit at his bottom lip. 

 

“What about the runes?” Magnus began. “It’s obvious that Matthew is lacking in that department. How do you expect to pull this off?” 

 

_Well, fuck._ Matt thought. He looked at his rune-free skin and thought about all the hours he’d spent in the makeup chair, watching as they applied the faux stick-on runes to his skin. Matt looked up and chewed on the inside of his cheek, forming an idea. 

 

“Okay. How much time do we have before I have to get back to the Institute?” he asked, pushing out Alec’s no-nonsense voice. 

 

“A couple hours, tops.” Jace replied, curious to see what the mundane lookalike would come up with. 

 

“Okay. Okay, we can do this.” Matt broke character, letting his shoulders hunch over and running his hands through his hair as he spoke. “Alright, so here’s how we’re going to do this. We all gotta work together, alright? This is a team effort. I know most of the runes on Alec’s body, but if I fuck up, I need someone who knows Alec better than he knows himself.” Matt looked pointedly at Jace, who looked affronted. 

 

“Runes? On Alec? Please. I know Alec’s runes as well as I know my own. We’re 

” Jace scoffed. 

 

“Geez Louise, a simple yes would’ve sufficed, Texas. Now, Now shut up.” Matt took advantage of Jace’s momentary confusions as being called ‘Texas’ again to address Clary.

 

“Clary. You’re an artist. I gotta say, you’re one of the best I know. I need you to draw the runes on my body. Can you do that for me?” Clary smiled and gave him a firm nod. “Fantastic. Okay, okay, then all that’s left is making sure that they runes stay on. Now, if I’m not mistaken, we’ve got a pretty powerful warlock in our midst, yeah?” Matt threw a cheeky grin at Magnus, excited that his plan was coming together. “It would be easy for the High Warlock of Brooklyn to do some kinda spell to make sure the runes don’t rub off throughout the day, yeah?.” he smiled innocently, looking up at Magnus, who scowled.

 

“This is ridiculous. This is a stupid plan and you shadowhunters are going to put the love of my life in danger.” he muttered angrily. Magnus inhaled deeply and ran a hand over his face, again. Matt waited for him to continue with bated breath. “We have no other choice,” he began again, in a level-headed, matter-of-fact tone. “Maryse is demanding him to return. He must return. We’ll keep a close eye on him and sneak him back out tonight.” Magnus turned a searing glare onto Matt and Matt could say with absolute certainty that he  _never_

wanted to be on the receiving end of one of those again. “Let’s see how well Mr. Hollywood here can hold his own.” Magnus challenged.

 

Jace smirked. Matt had a burning desire to stick out his tongue at the smug bastard, but Magnus’ glare was still fixed on him.

 

“Alright. That sounds like a plan!” Clary exclaimed, trying to ease the tension in the air. She slid over to Magnus and placed a hand over his hand. “We’ve got this Magnus, trust us.” 

 

Matt chuckled to himself as he watched Magnus successfully fight off another eyeroll. 

 

“Very well,” Magnus’ jaw clenched, but his eyes were determined. “Remember, don’t leave him alone with anyone, especially Aldertree and Maryse. The two of them are like bloodhounds, they would sniff out our friendly imposter in a heartbeat.” 

 

Magnus looked at Matt with determination and Matt reached out and grabbed Magnus’ forearm. Surprised, Magnus caught on and grasped Matt’s forearm in return. Matt had never really done the “brotherhood” type arm grasping thing, but he’d known quite a few frat boys who loved it. For some reason, however, it fit. 

 

“Hey, remember, we’re New Yorkers. Rule number one, always back the Mets. Rule number two,” Matt began.

 

“Fight like hell and don’t give up.” Magnus finished, his eyes shining. 

 

“Damn straight.” Matt grinned. He turned to Jace, Clary, and Simon - Simon, who was dorking out over the forearm thing, because it was apparently a thing in some movie… or something. Matt wasn’t sure what exactly he had just gotten himself into, but he knew he had to help protect Alec. 

 

“Alright, actor boy, don’t mess this up, you hear me? You might be a hotshot back in La La Land, or whatever mundane universe you come from, but this is real. And this is serious. If you screw this up, I swear by the Angel -” Jace began, in a menacing tone. 

 

“What, Jace?” Matt interrupted, annoyed and amused. “What are you going to do to?” Matt leveled Jace with a bored look while Jace stood there with a scowl gracing his features. “You know what? Let me tell you something. You wanna make a deal? Let’s make a deal, Texas. You stop being as asshole, and I won’t walk into the Institute beating on my chest like a gorilla bird. Sound about fair?” Matt deadpanned. 

 

Jace looked confused, angry, and… a bit amused all at once. He opened his mouth to retort, but instead, just nodded once sharply and gestured for Matt to get up. 

 

“Alright, gorilla bird. We have work to do.” 

 

Matt knew what he had to do. He knew the correct vocabulary and was familiar with Alec’s   mannerisms enough to feel relatively comfortable in his decision. Plus, he’d have Jace and Clary with him to keep him from getting into trouble - although, Jace and Clary weren’t really the ideal protectors. He knew enough about what was going on. He could manage. 

 

It was for the greater good, Matt could handle this.. right? 

 

No pressure, none at all.. Everything would be  _fine_ , or so he hoped. 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo, how many iconic Matt references did you find?? (Gorilla bird will always hold a special place in my heart) 
> 
> yell at me on tumblr : rosegoldhell (more commonly known by my other blog, goldenmythologies but I can't access it anymore)
> 
> do not yell at my beta/co-writer : unorthodoxpartofyourworld (but check her blog out! She's incredibly sweet)


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alec navigates through his first day on set as Matthew Daddario, a firm advocate for Space Hamlet and showers for cows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiya y'all ~  
> Quick note, there is a panic attack at the beginning of the chapter. It's basically Alec getting really worried and freaking out, and that escalates to a panic attack. 
> 
> The reaction to this fic has been amazing, thank you all so so much! We have a really good time writing it and you all have been super motivating for us. Sorry for this chapter being a bit late, but it's a pretty long, so we hope it doesn't disappoint! Updates will probably be once every week from here on out, since spring break is over and it's back to the real world :(
> 
> holler at me on tumblr: unorthodoxpartofyourworld  
> send all the love to my lovely co-writer, the amazing: rosegoldhell

The gravel crunched underneath the tires of the red ‘69 Camaro as Esther pulled up next to Matthew Daddario’s trailer. It was still extremely early, the sun turning the sky a lovely peach color. Birds were chirping and Esther was talking - most likely reminding him of little things that he had to keep in mind if he was going to pass as Matt - but all Alec could focus on was the rushing sound in his ears and the churning of his stomach.

 

Alec was terrified.

 

Logically, Alexander Gideon Lightwood knew that fear was weakness - irritating at best, fatally dangerous at worst. As a soldier, he was raised knowing that fear clouded judgement and got you killed on the battlefield. He knew that fear would only paralyze him. He knew that he had to swallow his fear and push through.

 

However, the problem was that Alec had never had to deal with this unique brand of terror before. Pragmatically, he knew that it was stupid to feel so threatened by something as mundane as “acting”. Alec _knew,_ but apparently, his insides did not. Instead, they chose to protest and grumble, making Alec feel sick with the overwhelming feeling of abiding terror.

 

Esther was still speaking - a low, comforting voice that broke through the chaos of his current headache - and Alec tried his best to comprehend the words coming out of her mouth, but he couldn’t calm down.

 

His head wouldn’t stop pounding and he couldn’t breathe. Alec tried to take deep breaths, the way Izzy showed him when this happened before, but he couldn’t quite seem to catch his breath. His eyes watered and his shoulders shook with exertion as he tried to _breathe. Just fucking breathe,_ he told himself, _in and out._ His muscles tensed and he felt tears leaking out of his eyes, but he couldn’t _breathe_. Alec squeezed his hands into tight fists and tried to force his throat to open up in vain. He felt something touch his shoulder and he jerked away, unable to process the sensation.

 

Faces flashed through his mind. Izzy. Jace. Magnus. Max. Even his mother and father were included in the whirlwind and all Alec could feel was desperation. He needed to get home. He wanted his family back.

 

Distantly, Alec felt hands on his face and heard a soothing, firm voice talking to him. The hands wiped away his tears and rested on his shoulders, grounding him as he shook.

 

“Alec. Alec, look at me. Can you please look at me? Tilt your head up for me, please. I need you to open your eyes.” the voice was saying, calm and strong.

 

Alec opened his eyes to meet warm, chocolate ones.

 

“Alec, hey! Hello, can you do me a favor? I need you to count the fingers on your hand for me. How many fingers does one hand have?”

Alec thought it was a stupid question, but he complied anyways, holding out his hand and counting his fingers. One. Two. Alec took a breath, sharp and short, but he inhaled. Three. Four. He blinked twice and the world became a little less blurry. Five.

 

“Five.” he said, a little breathy and still shaken.

 

“Okay, good. Now, how many black cars are in the lot across from us?” Esther rubbed Alec’s shoulder and Alec felt his muscles loosen, just a bit. One. He could take another breath. Two. And another. Three. His leg stopped shaking. Four. He inhaled deeply and unclenched his fists.

 

“Four. Four cars.” he gritted, taking deep breaths and reminding himself _in and out._

 

“Yeah, four black cars.” Esther smiled. “Alec? You feeling okay, buddy?” Esther voiced her question cautiously, as if Alec might break down again and he cringed. Alec knew better than to let his fear and panic get the best of him. He went through extra training just to keep his emotions in check, and yet here he was, an emotional wreck. “You know, Alec, it’s okay. This situation is crazy and I can’t imagine being tossed into an alternate universe.”

 

Alec grimaced, but his mind was clearing and he felt his rationality flood back. As he slowly regained his senses, he tuned back into what Esther was saying, finally able to fully understand what had just happened.

 

“-and you’re not alone. Just remember that, even though it seems hopeless. You’ll get back home, I know it.” Esther continued, hope gleaming in her eyes.

 

“Wait,” Alec cut her off, eyebrows knit together in confusion. “How did you do that?” Alec hadn’t had a panic attack in years and the last time he’d experienced one, it took Izzy almost 20 minutes to calm him down.

 

Esther smiled. “I know how to deal with panic attacks. I had a friend who used to have panic attacks back in college and I learned how to help out the best I could.” she explained.

 

“Okay.” Alec replied, keeping his head clear as his breathing finally, _finally_ returned to normal.

 

“Alright, now, can I ask you what happened? You just kind of freaked out on me there.” Esther was treading cautiously and Alec rolled his eyes. He wasn’t fragile, he was a soldier and he knew better than to let panic overcome him in the first place.

 

“I was just anxious about the mission - I mean, the whole acting thing today.” He explained, somewhat awkwardly. “I, um, I’ve never done this before and-” Alec cut himself off. _It feels like it’s all hopeless and I’ll never get home,_ his mind helpfully finished.

 

“Alec, you’ve got this. We spent all of last night going making sure that you pass for Matt today. You’re so clever and adaptive, I have no doubts that this _mission_ will be a success.” Esther grinned.

 

Alec knew there was some truth in her words, considering they had stayed up until an ungodly hour just so he could accurately memorize names, faces, habits, and even change his conversation style a bit. Alec was extremely grateful for her - albeit, he would rather be hiding out in the apartment until Magnus fixed this whole mess. Esther knew this, but she’d still pushed him to take Matt’s place - a bit guiltily. Alec understood why it was important, but he also dreaded doing this.

 

He wasn’t an actor on any level, but he hoped that the show literally being about him and his life would swing the odds in his favor. The basics of everything sounded easy enough, mainly consisting of memorizing lines and acting out scenes which he might’ve already lived through. It helped that he pretty much just had to be himself and he was sure that his real experience in the Shadow world help him do Matt justice and deliver a believable scene.

 

His main struggle was with what happened offscreen. How the fuck was he supposed to keep up appearances as this strange, cow-loving man who seemed to enjoy talking much more than necessary and skirted around questions with the avoidance of a Seelie?

 

He didn’t want to screw this up - clearly, this Matthew fellow was an important guy, according to the Internet, which contained more information than he could ever want to retain.

 

Alec had learned quite a bit about his castmates and generally, he knew who was who and how to act with different people, but he prayed to the Angel that he didn’t have any ‘inside jokes’ or friends - _or enemies_ , his mind supplied unhelpfully - that Esther didn’t know about.

 

Although watching interviews made him roll his eyes, he was able to find out that weird British guy was named Dominic - who preferred to be called Dom, for some reason - and that he was Matthew’s real-life parabatai. He was 27, had a girlfriend named Sarah, and had some kind of feud going on with Matthew about where he was born. Apparently, Matthew didn’t understand how to read a passport or birth certificate, but Alec just took it in stride, like many other things nowadays.

 

Things like Magnus Bane, the love of Alec’s life, the man he missed the most, being a married straight man named Harry, which left him a little unnerved. Harry was a dancer, married to a woman named Shelby, and actually didn’t wear makeup in real life. Matthew was really good friends with Harry and his wife, but Alec was hoping that he wouldn’t have to spend too much time with them. It was just weird, seeing a guy with Magnus’ face with someone else.

 

Simon’s lookalike - who acted a lot like Simon - was a guy named Alberto who, according to Esther, was a “cute little puppy”, whatever the hell that meant. He was extremely talented and apparently could do every accent under the sun, something Alec was actually curious to see.

 

Luke Garroway, the alpha of the Brooklyn werewolf pack, was a man named Isaiah Mustafa. He was famous for advertizing popular deodorants and body sprays while riding on a white horse, shirtless. Alec had demanded to see proof. The multiple videos Esther had pulled up did not disappoint.

 

The annoying little interloper was played by a young woman named Katherine, who known for being ridiculously smart and incredibly kind. Apparently, she always gave Matt candy, which was already a step up from the talking-carrot Fray that Alec knew. Even though they were slowly becoming more friendly with each other, Clary’s inability to think things through and listen when others - namely, Alec - told her something irked him to no end.

 

His fierce and ever so bold sister, Isabelle Lightwood, was played by a woman named Emeraude, who was “a literal cupcake”, according to Esther. Emeraude was a proud Latina who loved her family and always made the set a little happier with her positive attitude and flair for dramatics. Alec thought she sounded a lot like Izzy and Esther approved, confirming that she was a total badass.

 

And of course, there's him. Or well, the mundane him.

 

Matthew Daddario, a strong advocate for Space Hamlet and showers for cows, was going to be a challenge. Alec watched a bunch of his interviews and came to the conclusion that this Matthew fellow was hands down the weirdest guy in existence. The fans referred to him as “Daddy Oreo”, which was both strange and unusual. Apparently, even Matt still didn’t understand what they were on about.

 

Alec didn’t get it either, but he was just rolling with the punches, sending mental messages to Magnus every five minutes. Unfortunately, it seemed like all that effort was for naught, because as Esther helped him regain his breath, he realized that he was actually going to have to pull this off.

 

Alec rolled his shoulders and got into mission-mode. He had gone undercover before. Even though it was usually more of Izzy or Jace’s thing, he knew what to do and he knew he could do it.

 

According to the script Esther gave him, he had a scene with fake Magnus - Harry, he reminded himself - a fight, and some scenes at the Institute debating their options. Esther told him that this was actually really light compared to the scenes that Matthew usually got, but Alec was still surprised at how many lines he had to learn. The “healthy talk” he had with Magnus - Harry - was basic at best and Alec withheld a cringe as he rehearsed his lines.

 

Alec had his work cut out for him. He tried to think of it as just any other mission. It was just less cool and way more stressful, but he would manage. Hopefully.

 

\---

 

After a bottle of water and a few pep talks from Esther, Alec gathered his wits and got out of the car. He tried to look casual as he made his way to his trailer, but froze when he saw someone running towards him. He reached an arm behind him for his bow and flinched when he realized that he didn’t have his bow or quiver with him. His body stayed tense as the young girl rushed and stopped right in front of him.

 

“Matt! Hi, we need you in hair and makeup in 15. We’re running a bit behind and Hastings wants everyone ready because Paul Wesley is directing today.” the girl relayed, a dreamy look in her eyes at the mention of this Wesley person. “Oh, hi Esther!” she chirped as Esther came up behind Alec and took his hand.

 

Alec almost pulled away, but Esther squeezed his hand and laughed easily.

 

“Excited much, Aly? He’ll be there on time, he just hasn’t had his red eye yet.” Esther tried to bump Alec with her hip, but she ended up hitting him mid-thigh and even Alec couldn’t stifle a laugh at that.

 

“Alright, sounds good. Go caffeinate yourself, Matt! It’s a gonna be a good day!” Aly sang, rushing past the pair.

 

“Don’t drool over Paul Wesley too much!” Esther shouted after the young girl and Aly whipped around, red-faced, and stuck her tongue out before prancing off again.

 

Esther led Alec into his trailer and sat him down. The door creaked noisily slammed shut with a thud. Alec wondered if he could get that fixed, because hearing that all day would drive him nuts faster than anything else he’d come across so far.

 

“You can do this.” she began, clearly gearing up for another pep talk, but Alec interrupted her, standing up quickly.

 

“Yes, I can.” Alec rolled his shoulders again and smiled - a real smile that filled his face. Alec knew what he had to do and he was ready to do it.

 

\--

 

“We have to avoid the makeup chair.” Esther voiced as they exited the trailer. They both came to a halt, staying hidden behind behind the endless row of trailers. “You already have runes and that will cause some definite issues that we don’t have time for.” Esther whispered. She placed her hand on his bicep, keeping him from walking into view.

 

Alec could hear laughter roaring in the distance, getting closer by the minute. His heart stopped at the familiar sound of Magnus’ laugh, a cherished sound he’d only heard in the private hours of their shared moments. He wanted to run to him.

 

 _It’s not him though, it’s just some straight look-alike,_ he scolded himself.

 

Alec hated 99.9% of all alcoholic beverages, but he found himself craving a few shots of liquid courage to get him through the next few hours.

 

“What do we do, then?” he questions, because he honestly didn’t even think about his rune-addled body. He didn’t have have a working stele or working seraph blade but apparently, his runes had decided to stay put. It was probably an extra twist that the universe had added just to make his current predicament 10 times harder. It was so obvious now - life hated him.

 

Esther scanned the area, a pensive look on her face. Alec admired her quick thinking, because right now, he felt as mundane as the carrot top. His mind was empty and he had no idea what to do and no instinct to fall back on.

 

“You’re going to have to play it off like you’ve already had your makeup done,” Esther replied, calculating their next steps in her head. “Kat texted me earlier that they had a sixteen hour shoot last night, so I’m sure Stephanie is already a little out of it. Our main goal is to get you to set so you can do your scenes and we can leave. The less attention you draw to yourself the better.” Esther stepped out from behind the trailer, beckoning Alec to follow her lead.

 

“Act casual.”

 

Right, he could do that. Easy as pie.

 

Alec walked alongside her and tried his damndest to not make eye contact with anyone passing by. He held his head high, avoiding everyone, and placed his hand at the small of Esther’s back, attempting to look ‘couplely’ as she had put it the night before.

 

His calm and collected exterior couldn’t last for long, though. Of course not.

 

Alec turned his head a fraction and came face to face with his boyfriend. Well, a _straight man_ dressed like his boyfriend. All he was missing was the kohl lined eyes and perfect hair, but the outfit still gave off the brilliance of Magnus and Alec’s heart clenched.

 

Alec felt his mouth drop as he admired the bareness of his not-lovers face. Magnus wore his makeup proudly, always exuding confidence and beauty. He loved expressing himself and creating a work of art on his face, but Alec saw Magnus’ face as art with or without makeup.

 

This wasn’t Magnus, but Alec still couldn’t take his eyes off the rare sight of the man's natural beauty. Alec had only gotten the chance to see Magnus soft and bare once. It was the morning after their first time together and Alec had awoken to Magnus’ naked amber eyes staring back at him.

 

“You're going to burn a hole in his face.” Esther butted in, ruining Alec’s moment and making him turn away his appreciative gaze.

 

“Sorry, I can’t help that my boyfriend is hot.” he muttered out, arms crossed tightly against his chest.

 

Esther groaned out loud. “He’s not your boyfriend. That’s Harry.” she reminded him, and yes he knew that. Harry, the guy who looks like his Magnus, but wasn’t. The man who's going to drive him insane because of how much Alec missed his doppleganger.

 

“Trust me, I’m well aware of the difference.” Alec sighed, the chill of the cold Toronto air sending a shiver down his spine as he turned to face Esther. “It just hurts to see the face of someone I care about and know that it’s not really him.”

 

Esther smirked and raised her eyebrows. “Really? I wouldn’t know.”

 

“Ah, r-right.” Alec stuttered, realizing that she _most definitely_ did know. “I-I mean, you know…” Alec trailed off, cheeks coloring with an embarrassed blush.

 

Luckily, he was saved by a deep voice shouting out “Matt! Hey, are you okay today, man? You gave us all a scare yesterday.” Alec and Esther turned to come face to face with Luke - well, Isaiah.

 

“Uhhh,” Alec stammered, but a sharp kick in the shin by Esther refocused him. Right, he practiced this last night.

 

“I’m great! Ate bad fish, it gave me some weird stomach thing. Everything’s good now, no worries here.” he replied, smiling way too wide.

 

Isaiah raised his left brow, giving the pair a puzzled expression.

 

Alec clamped his hands behind his back, trying to ignore the sweat pooling in his palms as he stared back at the taller man in front of him. “I’m good, I promise.” he assured, a sincere tone in his voice.

 

Isaiah seemed to accept this and perked up, a smile forming in the wake of his frown. “That’s good, man, you know, I worry about you kids.” he chuckled lightheartedly, putting Alec somewhat at ease.

 

The difference between Luke and Isaiah was barely noticeable; they both exuded comfort and security and Alec appreciated the familiarity.

 

“Sorry for the scare, Isaiah. It took me by surprise, too.” Alec tried, giving a half smile. He felt the tension releasing from his shoulders and the stiffness of his posture sink to a comfortable stance.

 

Isaiah pulled out his phone, shuffling closer into Alec’s personal space without warning. “I put your cooking to shame last night, Daddario. Look at this masterpiece.” he said, shoving the phone in Alec’s face. “The salmon was marinated for 10 hours in a spiced honey sauce, roasted to perfection, and topped with more honey and sugared pecans.” he said proudly, flipping to another picture of the dish. “I served it with a nice herbal rice to balance the flavors and a fresh salad. Beat that, Mattias.” he smirked playfully while Alec stared trying to mask his confusion.

 

He peered at phone and glanced towards Esther for guidance. They did not go over cooking. All Alec knew about cooking was when Izzy was in the kitchen, run.

 

“It looks burnt.” he blurted out unintentionally, causing Esther to throw her head back and laugh at his statement. Alec immediately slapped his hand over his mouth, eyes widened. _Fuck._

 

Isaiah gasped dramatically, biting back a laugh. “That’s just cold, Daddario, I thought we had something special!” He shook his head with a tsk and Alec’s jaw dropped. Were they....a thing? Alec stared between Esther’s laughing form and Isaiah, confused. _No, that’s not possible_ , he thought. Matt was with Esther. This had to be a joke, right? Yeah, he was joking.

 

Isaiah pushed the phone clumsily back into his pocket and glared. “It’s much better than your baked feta disaster. It was basic at best and you used way too much lemon.” he huffed.

 

Alec truly didn’t know what the hell he was talking about, but he knew he had to play along. Besides, he needed a good excuse to be salty.

 

“The edges on the salmon are way to crispy, it’s suppose to melt in your mouth.” he countered, giving Isaiah a condescending look. He made a mental note to thank Izzy for making him sit through stupid cooking shows - even though she never learned anything from them.

 

Isaiah stood straighter and crossed his arms tightly against his chest.

 

“This means war”  he grinned wickedly, eyes full of mischief. Alec should've felt threatened, but couldn’t help but be amused by this grown man's childish antics.

 

“Bring it on” he challenged, which was obviously the right thing to say, judging by Esther’s approved smirk.

 

Alec mirrored Isaiah's stance, crossing his arms and standing tall. They were full on glaring at each other, jokingly or not Alec wasn’t sure, but he was enjoying himself.

 

“You going down, Daddario.” Isaiah sang out, a grin spreading across his face.

 

“We’ll see about that, M-Mustafa.” Alec retorted in monotone, hoping to the Angel that he got the name right.

 

Esther cleared her throat, grabbing both men’s attention. “Boys,” she said firmly, placing her hands on her hips. “You can have a food fight later, Matt’s already running late and you know how Hastings can be. Right, Matthew?” she made a cutting motion across her neck and Isaiah laughed out loud.

 

“You’re right about that. I actually have to go spend a couple hours in makeup for Luke’s big fight. I’m going all the way, baby!” Isaiah shot a grin at the pair and jogged off to one of the trailers.

 

Alec turned to Esther and shrugged.

 

“That actually wasn’t too bad. We might actually pull this off.” He smiled.

 

They could do it.

 

\--

 

Alec cautiously stepped into the makeup trailer with two cups of coffee, one black and one with heaps of sugar added.

 

“Julia! Stephanie!” he called out cheerfully, following the careful plan he and Esther had come up with.

 

Two very tired looking ladies looked up and smiled.

 

“Matt, there you are. We heard something about you fainting, but things have been so busy lately…” the blond woman sighed, running her hands through her short hair. _Stephanie_ , Alec concluded.

 

“Yeah, it was no big deal. I hear the real story is that two very lovely ladies have been working their asses into oblivion, so I thought I could get on your good sides with a small gift.” Alec cooed.

 

The women smiled gratefully and took the coffee from his hands.

 

“Thank you very much Matthew.” the brunette - Julia - said warmly. “Alright, hop up into that chair and let’s get started on that mop of yours.” she chugged her coffee and took out a bunch of cans and combs.

 

“And let me just get your rune tattoos… oh wait, did I already rune you?” Stephanie asked, staring at his neck rune.

 

“Um, yeah, I came in a little earlier and you seemed really exhausted, which is why I came back with coffee.” Alec said, laying on the charm as thick as he could.

 

“What? Ah, really? Hmm that’s… yeah… yeah, alright. Wow. I can barely remember it, but I mean, I guess that’s it, huh?” Stephanie looked flustered, but she sipped her coffee and shook her head, putting on a game face. “Did I already do your makeup?” she asked.

 

“Nope, I’m here to get pretty.” Alec cringed at his cheesiness, but Esther had literally given him lines and he trusted her.

 

Stephanie accepted that answer and smiled, pulling out some brushes and getting to work on Alec’s face.

 

“I don’t even have to do that much work with you, honestly. You have very nice skin, Matthew. I just have to - “ she paused and inspected his face closely. “Matt, did you already shave?”

 

Alec was not prepared. He just didn’t like the feeling of stubble on his face. He preferred keeping himself clean-shaven, looking professional, like a leader. He probably should’ve kept his stubble considering that all in all his videos, Matthew was always sporting a beard.

 

“I-I thought, um,” Alec thought quickly. “I know you’re already tired and I’m perfectly capable of shaving myself, so I thought I’d do you a lil favor, since it’s the only thing I can really do.” Alec explained with a sheepish smile.

 

Stephanie lit up at his words and shook her head fondly. “Well, thank you very much, Matt. It looks like you got everything, too. I don’t even have to clean up much. Well done.”

 

Satisfied with his small victory, Alec leaned back in his chair, relaxed.

 

“Don’t expect it too often though! I’m very attached to my facial hair.” he grinned lazily as he closed his eyes and let the women fuss over him.

 

Stephanie snorted and began applying something over his face. Alec wasn’t used to the sensation, but he let himself mentally check out and prided himself on getting through the first part of his mission.

 

After getting his makeup and hair done, Alec shrugged on his “costume”, all at once feeling a little better as the leather settled against his skin. He was careful not to touch his face, still not used to the unfamiliar feeling of something on his skin.

 

After getting dressed and “becoming Alec”, he headed to the big tent with all the food and met up with Esther.

 

“Well, what do you think?” he smirked as she stood up in surprise. Esther smiled, her mouth full of some pastry, and gave him two thumbs up. She swallowed quickly and pulled out some papers from her purse.

 

“Okay, _Alec_ , you look like a real Shadowhunter now.” she teased. “Alright, so you have your next scene on set in Magnus’ loft. You remember your lines?” she prodded.

 

“Yes. Magnus is furious about the Downworld registry thing and I’m trying to calm him down, but I don’t think it’s a good idea either. There’s a “healthy talk” and a “chaste kiss”, whatever the hell that means.” Alec grumbled the last part, rolling his eyes.

 

“You don’t approve?” Esther raised her eyebrows as they made their way to the set.

 

“I don’t know, it just feels weird.” Alec twisted his lips into a frown. He didn’t actually know what it was that was bothering him, but the script felt inauthentic and dry.

 

“Yeah well, just act the way you normally would with Magnus. I know that Harry doesn’t always agree with the scripts either. It’s just show politics, honestly.” she sighed, patting his arm.

 

They arrived on the set and Alec was confused at the way everything was set up, but he saw Harry and went to stand by him.

 

“Hey.” he began hesitantly.

 

Harry turned to him and his eyes widened comically, a grin stretching across his face. Alec’s breath caught in his throat. He had his hair and makeup done and looked so much like Magnus it hurt.

 

“Matt, my man! You scared us yesterday! What happened? The Shadow world got to you?” Harry joked, punching Alec’s arm lightly. “I almost believed that I was actually Magnus, man, you confused the hell out of me.” There was a fond smile on Harry’s face and Alec pinched himself to get his mouth moving again.

 

“Ah, you’re t-telling me! I guess that’s what sixteen hour shoots do to you,” he chuckled anxiously, rubbing the back of his neck, looking anywhere but at Harry. This should not be this hard.

 

Harry didn’t seem to notice - or he brushed it off as Matt being a weirdo - and simply agreed, pulling Alec in for a short hug. “Well, it’s good to have you back, man. We were all really worried.”

 

Alec inhaled sharply and wrapped his arms loosely around Harry, even though his head was irrationally telling him _hold on tight and never let go_. Harry gave him a slap on the back and nodded his head towards the approaching men.

 

Alec followed him into one of the big wooden doorways and was stunned to find himself standing in Magnus’ loft. For a second, he thought he was back home, but a second look revealed wires and cameras positioned all around the room. Alec blinked twice, taking in the reality of his surroundings.

 

A loud voice broke him out of his thoughts.

 

“Matt! Harry! Come over here for a second, guys.” a middle-aged man with darker hair called. Matt followed Harry towards the three men. One was young, a little older than himself and was looking over some papers with a serious expression on his face. The other two were a bit older, grinning at them as they approached.

 

“Matt, Harry, this is Paul Wesley. I think you’ve met him already, but we wanted to make a formal introduction. As you know, he’s directing 2.16.” one of the men - Darren? - informed.

 

“Hi, Paul. We met yesterday in craft service.” Harry began smoothly and Alec watched as the younger man - Paul -  looked up and smiled. _He has nice smile_ , Alec thought.

 

“Harry, how could I forget you, my friend?” Paul stepped forward and gave Harry a one-armed hug. He turned to Alec and grinned. “Now, this is the one person on set that I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting. Hello, Matthew. I’ve honestly heard a lot about you and I look forward to working with you.” He smiled warmly and held out his hand.

 

Alec shook his hand with a smile. “It’s nice to meet you too, Paul. I’ve heard a lot about you too and I’m definitely excited to work with you.” Alec knew he’d said the right thing when Darren and the other guy - Todd, he thought - nodded in approval.

 

“Ah man, don’t kill me off just yet. I know you got a thing against vampires, but I swear, I’m human now.” Paul joked, holding out his hands in mock surrender. Alec tensed, not knowing what to say, because apparently, he and Paul had an inside joke? _Why can’t the internet tell me more_ , he groaned internally.

 

His confusion must’ve shown on his face, because Harry chuckled and slapped his shoulder.

 

“You’ve got to excuse Matthew here, Paul. You see, our dear friend spends more time sitting in his hammock thinking about cows than he does keeping up with the real world.” Harry explained, grinning. “Although,” he said, turning to Alec. “I’m surprised that you haven’t already googled Paul Wesley and came prepared with little flashcards.”

 

“Yeah, well, when you faint and think you’re a real live Shadowhunter, that can throw a kink in your plans sometimes.” Alec snarked back, still confused but trying to keep up appearances. He was pleased when Harry and Paul both laugh out loud.

 

“I’m glad you still don’t think that, because I played a vampire on another show, though I’m a little surprised you haven’t heard about it.” Paul chuckled, shoulders shaking at ‘Matt’s’ obliviousness.

 

Something clicked in Alec’s head and he suddenly remembered something that Esther was telling him last night. _Vampires!_

 

“The… ah fuck what was it, The Vampire Diaries!” Alec exclaimed triumphantly. “I did my research.” he protested, turning to Harry. “Don’t throw me under the bus like that, I thought we had something special.” Alec used Isaiah’s words from earlier, pouting.

 

Harry snorted and rolled his eyes and Paul laughed, took off his cap to run his hand through his hair, and readjusted it.

 

“Yep, Stefan Salvatore, at your service.” Paul smiled. Alec felt like he had passed some kind of test and that little burst of confidence prepared him for what came next.

 

The actual acting part.

 

Paul, Harry, Todd, and Darren discussed the scene and what they expected and Alec listened carefully, trying to understand exactly what they meant by “just make sure to keep it PG, we are a family show, after all.” Harry just clenched his jaw and brooded while Paul looked somewhere between confused and frustrated. Alec didn’t really understand “show politics”, as Esther put it, but he decided to fuck it and just act like he normally would.

 

His anxiety over the scene was somewhat quelled when Paul turned to both him and Harry after the showrunners had walked away and assured them that he was alright with improvising where they felt it would flow better. The three of them went through the script together and Harry made some suggestions that Paul and Alec both liked.

 

Soon enough, it was time to shoot and Alec’s stomach was twisting a bit, but he felt more assured after spending some time with Paul and Harry.

 

Harry wasn’t Magnus and it still made his heart clench a bit, but Harry Shum Jr was a pretty interesting guy and he seemed like the type of person Alec would want to befriend.

 

Paul was fantastic - partly because he didn’t know someone with Paul’s face in his universe, which was a breath of fresh air - but also because he was smart, determined, and surprisingly easy-going.

 

Alec felt better already.

 

They got into their places and Alec took a deep breath and ran through his lines again.

 

“Action!” someone called.

 

Alec opened his eyes and stepped out to meet Harry on the balcony. He got to be himself now - this should be easy.

 

“Magnus?” Alec called out, shuffling closer to the tense man in front of him. Harry really was a fantastic actor, because the anger he exuded made Alec feel like he really in a fight with Magnus. Harry sighed and slumped against the concrete wall in front of him.

 

“Alec, I don’t want to talk about it. I know what you’re going to say and I do not agree. This is ridiculous. I refuse to take part in a Downworlder registry. It’s insulting - “ Harry grumbled, and Alec knew that was his cue for a line.

 

“Magnus, please.” Alec began, but a loud “CUT!” rang out before he could finish his line.

 

“Harry, that was solid. Matt, you gotta come in a little quicker, you’re supposed to be interrupting him, so you can’t leave that much time between the lines. Do you have your line?” Paul called out.

 

“Sorry, my bad. I know the line.” Alec replied, frustrated with himself.

 

“How hard did you hit your head, Matthew?” Harry smirked, turning to get back into position.

 

“No matter how hard I hit it, I can still kick your ass.” Alec replied, without thinking. Becoming more comfortable with Harry had made it easier to snark back and forth and slip into the role of Matthew Daddario.

 

“Ha, you can try!” Harry challenged as Alec stepped back into the foyer and closed the glass door, chuckling to himself.

 

Alec took a deep breath and nodded at Paul who started the countdown and called “action!”

 

Alec was ready this time, cautiously stepping out onto the balcony and letting the scene hit him. Magnus was upset about something stupid that they Clave had pulled.

 

“Magnus?” he called out, shuffling closer, just like before.

 

Harry let out another sigh, this time turning his head a fraction an scoffing before turning back and reciting his line.

 

“Alec, I don’t want to talk about it. I know what you’re going to say and I do not agree. This is ridiculous. I refuse to take part in a Downworlder registry. It’s insulting - “

 

This time, Alec was ready, he quickly stepped behind Magnus and snaked an arm around his waist, resting his forehead against the back of Harry’s neck.

 

“Magnus, I-I’m sorry. I don’t agree with it either, but the Clave makes these decisions because they believe it will help. The Soul Sword is still missing. You could be in danger,” Alec moved to Harry’s side and turned Harry to face him, tightening his hands over his waist. Harry’s face twitched for a second, but he followed Alec’s lead and rested his hands on Alec’s shoulders, stepping into the embrace. “I don’t want you in danger anymore.”

 

“Alec, my darling,” Harry cupped Alec’s cheek with his hand and Alec suddenly missed Magnus more than he thought possible. “I am the High Warlock of - “

 

“CUT!”

 

Harry and Alec both whipped their heads in the direction of the order, but Paul was looking around with a confused look on his face, eyebrows scrunched together in frustration.

 

Todd appeared on set, flustered and sheepish. He gestured Harry and Alec over as he talked to Paul.

 

“ - so you see, it’s just not entirely appropriate and frankly, it’s out of character. These two already know that, so I’m confused why this is coming up.” Todd was saying as they approached. Paul looked annoyed so he turned to Harry and Alec and pursed his lips.

 

“Did you guys get that? That was out of character for Alec and Magnus.” Paul simpered, keeping his face void, but Alec could see his jaw clenching. Harry narrowed his eyes, but said nothing. Alec was confused why they both weren’t speaking up, because both of them seemed to approve of the suggestions they’d talked about earlier.

 

Since the script didn’t do much to show the intimacy between “malec”, Harry had suggested using body language to make up for it. That’s exactly what Alec did - he just acted the way he normally would with Magnus.

 

“Um, I’m sorry. Did I do something wrong?”Alec inquired, turning to Todd. “We are a couple, right? Isn’t this how couples act?”

 

“W-what? Yes, of course, Alec and Magnus are the most popular couple on the show right now - “ Todd stammered, flushed. He looked to Paul for help, who just shrugged.

 

“I saw nothing wrong in the scene.” he drawled coolly, inspecting his nails as if they were suddenly the most fascinating thing in the world.

 

“Well, that’s not what I mean. Magnus and Alec, well, they’re not touchy-feely. Their intimacy is more off-screen, you know? Even in her books, Cassie purposefully made Malec a more ‘behind-closed-doors’ type of couple. They’re not very into PDA.” Todd insisted, his face flushed.

 

“What makes you say that, though?” Alec snorted, finding the whole conversation a bit ridiculous. “Alec isn’t ashamed of his sexuality and neither is Magnus - I mean, they made out at Alec’s wedding to another person in front of everyone. I don’t think they’re making out every five minutes but I also don’t think they shy away from PDA.”

 

“You see, that’s just not-” Darren began, but Harry was quick to cut him off.

 

“Matt has a point, you can’t deny that. Also, this _is_ an intimate scene. It’s just the two of them and I really see no reason for them to not act like a couple. The other couples on the show do it - why can’t Malec?” Harry pushed.

 

“Right, but we haven’t done anything like this before. I just think it would be too sudden a change in characterization.” Darren looked at Todd and nodded at each other.

 

“So they just keep six inches between them at all times?” Alec asked incredulously, angry at the idea that it wasn’t in his _character_ to be affectionate with Magnus. Alec kept up his soldier persona more often than not, but Magnus was the one person he truly let his guard down with. This actually pissed him off.

 

“Well, they definitely have intimacy between them and there are a lot of kisses, I don’t understand why you’re bringing this up again.” Todd spoke up.

 

“What, do they fuck with a sheet between them or something? It’s a private moment, why can’t we just be loving and affectionate?” Alec protested.

 

“Well, I mean - “ Todd began, but Alec continued, furious at these men dictating _his_ relationship with _his_ _boyfriend_. He didn’t care that this was technically just a show to these folks - it was still about him. Fuck if couldn’t cuddle with his boyfriend, even fictionally.

 

“You know, growing up, I never saw good role models or representation for m- _Alec’s_ sexuality. Think about the people watching the show. I think people deserve to see a healthy, loving relationship with nothing censored out. We- _they’re_ in love, damn it, why can’t they just be a couple? A couple that loves each other very much and isn’t afraid to show it. This is ridiculous.” Alec all but sneered, hoping that no one noticed his little slip-ups.

 

Todd and Darren just gawked awkwardly.

 

Paul clapped his hands together to get everyone’s attention.

 

“Alright then,” he smirked at Alec. “It looks like this has been decided. We treat the relationship like an actual relationship. It’s actually how I saw the scene going, anyways. Unless there’s another issue with that?” he turned to look at the showrunners, who sheepishly shook their heads, heading back to stand behind the monitors with the production crew.

 

“Thanks.” Alec sighed, rubbing the back of his neck as he realized what he’d just done.

 

“No, seriously. Thank _you_. Now go kick some ass.” Paul’s lips twitched upwards in a small smile.

 

As they walked back to their places, Harry elbowed him, glee written all over his face.

 

“You’ve been reading those twitter rants again, haven’t you?” he raised his eyebrows playfully.

 

“Um, yeah, I guess. I probably should’ve just kept quiet but-” Alec began.

 

“Fuck, no.” Harry interrupted. “It’s about time one of us did that. There’s a lot of… show politics.” Harry practically spat out the last word. “I’m not one to cause drama, but you know how I feel about it. Shit, if you hadn’t done that today, I probably would’ve blown up in a few days anyway.”

 

“Well, I’m glad, then.” Alec felt a proud smile creep up onto his face. Seeing the pleased look on Harry’s face reminded him of something Magnus had said to him once.

 

_Alexander, you blow up the very ground you stand on to make something right._

 

He kept Magnus’ proud smile in his mind as he went through the scene again. It still took a few takes because Alec still didn’t know shit about acting, but the final scene went off without a hitch.

 

\---

 

After his scene with Harry, Alec went headed to craft service to meet up with Esther and get ready for his next scene - the big fight. He wasn’t too worried about it because, damn, he was a Shadowhunter in real life. He already knew more than all of them combined.

 

As he approached the tent, he heard heels clicking furiously on the pavement behind him. _Izzy!_ He thought, as he turned to face his sister.

 

“Matt! Oh my gosh, Harry just told me about what you did in your last scene! Telling Todd and Darren off like that? Damn big brother, I didn’t know you were such a badass!” Izzy smirked, excited smile on her cherub face.

 

Alec felt overwhelming relief and he drew the girl in for a hug, squeezing her tight and dropping a kiss on the top of her head. _Izzy found me, thank the Angel._

 

“Matt? Ah, how hard did you hit your head yesterday, _hermano_ ?” Izzy smirked, and Alec felt his stomach drop. Fuck, this wasn’t Izzy. This was that Emily girl. _Wait, not Emily… Emma? Emerald? Emeraude!_ “I missed you too, you doofus.” Emeraude was laughing and squeezed him back just as hard.

 

Alec was glad his burst of affection wasn’t out of the ordinary for Matt. Emeraude seemed like a very likeable girl and he could see that Esther was right - she was a lot like Izzy. Alec felt the same familiarity and comfort radiating off of her that he felt around Izzy.

 

“Yeah, yeah. You’re just so squishable.” Alec retorted, trying to think of what Matthew would say in this situation. ‘Squishable’ seemed to be the right way to go, because Emeraude threw back her head and laughed.

 

“Alright, Matt, let’s go.” she pulled him in the other direction - away from the craft service tent - and Alec panicked.

 

“W-wait, Esther’s waiting for me in the craft service tent, I gotta go see her real quick.” Alec stuttered, turning back to look at the white tent.

 

“You can have a quickie later, you horndog.” Emeraude shot him a smirk. “Right now, we gotta get to the gym to rehearse this next fight sequence.” she looped her arm around his and the tiny young woman all but dragged his lanky, 6’3, shadowhunting ass to the gym. If this girl was anything like Izzy, he knew better than to fight her on this.

 

They got to the gym and Alec relaxed. This was sparring - it would be just like training. He rolled his shoulders and followed Emeraude to where a bunch of other folks were standing. He recognized Isaiah and decided to stand between him and Emeraude. He stretched his neck from side to side, taking in his surroundings, getting ready to train when,

 

“Oof!” the wind was knocked out of Alec’s chest as he felt another body jump on his from behind. Strong legs wrapped around his waist and he felt his attacker wring an arm around his neck, putting him in a chokehold.

 

Alec stumbled forward, twisting and grunting, trying to get the attacker off his back, but stopped in confusion when the pressure disappeared from his neck. Instead, the attacker was ferociously rubbing his knuckles into the top of Alec’s skull and yanking on his ears, growling angrily.

 

“You stupid giant, you faint and go crazy for a minute and then just leave - no calls, no texts, nada! Then your dumb cow-loving ass comes back to set and causes more drama in 10 minutes than an entire season and _you don’t come update me first_?!” the voice was a man’s and - more importantly - British. Alec guessed that this was his “irl parabatai” Dom Sherwood. “I’m hurt, Matthew. I’m deeply and emotionally offended. This is a morally reprehensible offense, you dumbfuck.” Dom jumped off of Alec’s back and opted, instead, to tackle him, but this time, Alec was ready.

 

Chuckling a bit, he playfully fought back, fending off Dom’s attacks and reaching in to mess up the other man’s hair.

 

“Hey, come on now, Matthew. We don’t touch my hair, you know this!” Dom was laughing now, bright and unabashed. He flipped his hair dramatically. “You don’t ruin a masterpiece, you loon.”

 

Alec couldn’t hold back a laugh - this guy was surprisingly similar to Jace and Alec found it comforting.

 

“Where’s the masterpiece? I don’t see anything remotely valuable here.” Alec snarked, raising his eyebrows and doing a full 360 around this room. He turned back to Dom and smirked.

 

“Awh, come on Matthew, we’re parabatai, I’d expect you to at least know the value of your fellow nephilim warrior whose heart yours beats together with in battle.” Dom pouted comically and Alec heard some of the others who’d gathered around to watch their exchange giggle.

 

“Parabatai? More like paraba-bitch, you never listen to anything I say!” Alec joked.

 

“Paraba-asshole!” Dom shot back, grinning like a Cheshire cat.

 

“Why are you like this?” Alec sighed dramatically, running his hands through his hair and rubbing his temples in faux aggravation.

 

“You bastard, get your ass over here.” Dom broke, chuckling, and drew Alec in for a hug. “In all seriousness though, you alright, mate? Remember, I was there the other day and you were pretty out of it.” Dom’s face screwed in concern.

 

“Yeah, I’m all good.” Alec smiled warmly. “Honestly, if I had a real excuse to miss work - and avoid seeing your face - I would definitely take it.” he grinned widely, thumping Dom on the back.

 

“Yeah, yeah, it’s not that great to see your ugly mug either, you goof.”

 

Alec was beginning to feel like this might not be so bad.

 

\---

 

This was bad.

 

Alec grunted and stepped back onto the fighting mat, facing his fight sequence director, or something. The man - Kyle - was trying to teach Alec how to fight. Well, he was showing Alec how to _lose_ the fight - something Alec did not want to do. It went against every instinct in his body and he was finding it difficult to override his battle instincts.

 

“Alright Matt, come on, when I come at you, you need to move right, punch with your left, shuffle away two steps, and then turn back to elbow me. Make sure to keep your neck loose so as soon as you feel my hand, you snap your head back and push your body outwards. Position your feet and twist so you sprawl backwards.” Kyle was explaining. Alec didn’t _want_ to ‘sprawl backwards’.

 

According the the script, he was supposed to fall and right before he got his neck ripped apart by a rogue vamp, Izzy would snap her whip around the guy’s neck and yank him off. It sounded good in theory, but it was so stupid.

 

 _I wouldn’t turn like that! That’s such a stupid, novice move. I’m not fucking Clary Fray to make a dumb move that leaves me wide open like that. I’ve been training all my life and I’d never make that mistake in battle - NEVER!_ Alec’s angry inner monologue was interrupted by Kyle pulling him back into position and showing him the steps again.

 

This was ridiculous.

 

Alec grumbled under his breath and got into his position, ready to try again. Kyle came at him and Alec dodged right, like he was supposed to. He punched, shuffled, and rolled his eyes as he turned away, twisting his body so his elbow came down with the force of all his frustrations. As planned, his elbow met air and he felt Kyle’s fist touch his cheek. He whipped his head around and groaned out loud, planting his ass half-heartedly on the mat, looking up at Kyle with bored, angry eyes.

 

Kyle wasn’t looking too pleased either.

 

“Well, you’ve got the sequence down.” he remarked. “Do you want to go through this one again or move on to the next one?”

 

“I’ve got this one down. I just don’t like ‘sprawling on my ass’.” Alec muttered.

 

Kyle chuckled, some of the tension in his shoulders easing. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure no one likes being ‘sprawled on their ass’, Daddario.”

 

“Unless it’s in bed! Matthew loves that!” Dom hollered from across the gym as he jogged over to them. Alec rolled his eyes and hoped no one noticed the heat rushing to his cheeks.

 

Unfortunately for him, his castmates were very observant.

 

“Awh, _pobrecito_ ,” Emeraude giggled, strutting towards them. Apparently, everyone had gone through all their sequences and had shown up to make Alec’s life hell. “Look at him, he’s blushing. Should I go get Esther? I’m sure you can squeeze in time for that quickie, Daddy Oreo.” Em winked at him and Dom threw his head back in laughter.

 

Alec hated them.

 

“Shut up, damn it, Em. I’m just having an off day.” he grumbled.

 

“Oh Matt, come on, lighten up a bit. I don’t like seeing you without a smile.” she squatted next to where he was still ‘sprawled’ out on the mat with his arms crossed over his face. He peeked out from under his elbows, saw her thousand watt smile, and couldn’t stop the corners of his mouth from turning up.

 

“Whatever.” he grumbled, without malice. Sighing, he pushed himself up and stood, hunched over in frustration.

 

“Don’t sweat it, Matt. I know you had a small accident the other day and it’s totally okay to be a little off your game. I gotta take a leak, but I’ll be back in a few minutes. Just relax, we can do this as many times as you need to get it right.” Kyle patted his shoulder and jogged towards the door, leaving Alec at the mercy of two people who not only looked like his siblings, they acted like them too.

 

“Chin up, Daddario. Here, let me knock you on your ass a few times and see if that helps you get your mojo back.” Dom boasted, tossing Alec a plastic seraph blade. Alec inspected the little sword with disdain and rolled his eyes.

 

“Not on your life, Sherwood. Let’s begin.” Alec declared.

 

They warmed up for a bit, circling each other and taking basic hits, parrying forward and back. It was relaxing, Alec realized, to repeat the smooth motions he was so familiar with. After a few harmless attacks tossed back and forth, Dom charged forward. Alec, acting on instinct, blocked the attack and counter attacked, knocking Dom back a few steps. The blond still had a wicked grin painted on his face and Alec could feel his own smile stretching over his usual grimace.

 

This time, when Dom charged him, he was ready, bending down with his seraph blade to deflect the attack while tripping the other man and letting him roll over his back and fall to the ground with a heavy thud.

 

“Dom!” Emeraude called out and rushed towards the breathless man. He looked up at Alec with wide eyes and he regained his breath and raised his eyebrows. Alec froze, unsure of what to do in this situation. He thanked the Angel when Dom shook his head in disbelief and chuckled.

 

“Damn you, Daddario. You’ve been holding out on me!”

 

“How does it feel to be sprawled on you ass, Sherwood?” Alec retorted, pleased with himself. He held out his hand and pulled Dom to his feet.

 

“It’s definitely a new feeling, considering I’m usually the one handing your ass to _you_.” he shrugged, rolling his shoulders.

 

“Please.” Alec snorted. Even if Matthew was actually the shittiest fighter on set, Alec refused to give Jace 2 any satisfaction. “You wish you could hand my ass to me.”

 

Dom laughed, straightening up and rubbing his lower back.

 

“Where did you learn that?” Emeraude inquired curiously. “That was really impressive, actually.”

 

“Don’t give him too much praise, Em. It’ll go to his head!” Dom joked, still standing a bit funny. “But in all seriousness, that was crazy, man. Take it easy on me, though. If you send me back to Sarah with a bad back, I can’t help you there. And you know Sarah.” Dom chuckled, raising his eyebrows.

 

Alec laughed uneasily, walking off the mat with the two of them and pulling out a chair so Dom could sit for a bit.

 

He never thought being too good at fighting would cause problems for him. As he and Emeraude were making sure that Dom was okay, Kyle entered the gym again.

 

Alec sighed and got ready to lose some more fights.

 

-

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Matt heads back to the Institute and butts heads with Maryse, then hangs out w Izzy for a while

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi lovelies~  
> Once again, thanks so so much for the amazing reaction to this fic, it means so much to both of us!  
> Your comments have been so great, so inspiring, and they motivate us to keep writing!  
> This chapter is a little bit of a filler, but it sets up a lot of the next chapter and we finally get to see Izzy!   
> Enjoy!  
> hit us up on tumblr and tell us your thoughts!
> 
> unorthodoxpartofyourworld
> 
> rosegoldhell

Matt stared up in wonder. 

 

His eyes focused on the soaring high towers and large lancet windows glimmering in the afternoon sunlight, catching the colors of the stained glass brilliantly. The church was old and definitely looked abandoned - nature had already started taking back what was theirs, judging by the field of vines swirling around the exterior. It was a beautiful sight, in a weird, horror movie kind of way. 

 

Matt chuckled as the magnitude of where he was and what he was about to do hit him. If he were in any other situation, he would think that the Shadowhunters had brought him to an execution site. The place was secluded and heavily warded so humans - like himself - couldn't see the truth that laid behind the glamour. 

 

Thankfully, Matt knew otherwise. He took one look at the gothic architectural masterpiece and realized that it was none other than the New York Institute, home to the local Nephilim

 

The darkened ashlar stone, pointed arches, large towering spires, and vertical curve of the flying buttresses made the vacant historical sight stand out in a sea of sacred vaults and tombstones.

 

“Wow,” he breathed involuntarily, allured. Matt ached to have his trusty Canon DSLR in his hands so he could capture the raw beauty of the archaic cathedral.  

 

Jace rolled his eyes and slapped Matt’s shoulder, making him flinch and breaking him out of his trace. 

 

“You better not screw this up.” Jace warned, eyes hardened and voice laced with venom. “My brother’s safety is on the line. You might be familiar with his mannerisms and you might be able to fool a bunch of general Shadowhunters, but Maryse isn’t just any Shadowhunter. She’s ruthless and she’s our  _ mother. _ She’ll smell your bullshit a mile away, so don’t you dare fuck this up,  _ mundane. _ ” Jace seethed. Matt was gave him a withering look and slapped his shoulder right back. 

 

“Don’t threaten me, Goldilocks.” he countered. “I know what we’re about to do and I know what’s required of me. Lighten up, at this rate, you’re going to be the one giving us away.” Matt said nonchalantly, a ghost of a smile gracing his lips. 

 

Jace glared, which probably should’ve been threatening, but his lip did that stupid pouty thing. Instead, he looked like an overgrown child - which wasn’t that far off from the truth, if Matt was being honest with himself. 

 

These folks were so uptight.  _ Do Shadowhunters get vacations? _ Matt wondered, and decided that they definitely needed one.

  
  


There was a big part of Matthew that didn’t want to be here and wanted to let loose and wreak havoc in this world, just to see what happened. At first, this was a game - it was fun and interesting to see the Shadow world and this new universe, but when the gravity of the situation set in, he realized that this was a lot more than he was ready to take on. 

 

As much as he wanted to go AWOL and go crazy, he knew that here, in this world, this was real. Alec Lightwood was real and had a real job with real responsibilities. These were real half-angels he was working with, to fight real demons. He had just slept over at a real warlock’s house and he was walking next to a real vampire. The whole situation was just  _ wild. _

 

Matt knew that Alec didn’t deserve to have his life screwed up by his mundane doppleganger, but Jace, ever the devil he was, kept wearing on his patience, and Matt suddenly found the idea of messing with the golden boy until the day he got sent back very appealing.  _ Stupid Shadowhunters _ , he thought to himself. Matthew found himself desperately wanting to return to Magnus’ loft, and lose himself in the comfort of take out food, and shitty television, so he could simply wait it out. 

 

But alas, he wasn’t that selfish. Matt knew Alec Lightwood needed him and he wasn’t going to let his blond parabatai or the little voice of fear in the back of his head stop him from doing what was right. 

 

On the other hand, Matt hoped Alec was doing the same for him. If Alexander Lightwood was really in  _ his _ universe, Matt could only imagine what was happening. He wondered what was going on at home. What if Alec had taken his place, just like Matt was doing? Matt chuckled to himself at the thought of one Alec Lightwood acting and interacting with the rest of the cast. Damn, he’d pay to see that show. 

 

Genuinely, he didn’t know what to think, since here, Magnus had felt the shift in their energies immediately. Would people know? Could people tell? Would he return home to his friends and family thinking he had lost his marbles? 

 

_ That wouldn’t be good _ . 

 

However, now wasn’t the time - or the place - to be having those thoughts. Alec was smart and clever. Matt just hoped that Alec’s intelligence found a way to make sure that Matt kept his job.  

 

“They can see us just standing here, right? We should probably get inside before they get suspicious.” Clary piped up, breaking Matt out of his thoughts. Her voice made him cringe, and he wondered if he’d retained some of Alec’s thoughts and personality as well. 

 

“Yeah.” he mumbled in reply, slowly psyching himself up. He channeled Alec, and ran his fingers through his hair, closing his eyes for effect.   _ You can do this _ ,  _ you literally play the guy for a living,  _ he told himself. 

 

“Alright. I’m ready.” he declared, standing straighter and forcing his expression to be blank. 

 

Jace grumbled something under his breath -which Matt was 100% sure was an insult - but chose to ignore it in favor of the mission at hand. He’d have plenty of time to screw with the blondie later, maybe, if he didn’t screw this up. 

 

_ Shit. _

 

“Time to put those acting skills to work,  _ Alec.”  _ Clary grinned, a mischievous glint shining in her emerald eyes. 

 

Matt scrunched up his nose and raised his eyebrows, eyeing her up and down. 

 

“Whatever.” he replied, before brushing past her and sauntering off towards the entrance. 

 

Being Alec came with some perks.

 

\---

  
  


“Grab my hand.” Jace ordered as soon as they stepped into the building. 

 

Matt was about to object -  _ you’re so not my type _ \-  when Jace locked their fingers together anyway. He took out his stele, burning a rune onto his forearm, making Matt nauseous at the sight of it. It was so graphic in real life, he could literally smell the stench of burning flesh.

 

Thank God for CGI. 

 

When Jace let go of his hand, Matt blinked a few times as the glamour faded away.  _ Ah, right - the glamour thing _ , he realized. The rune had allowed him to see beyond the glamour.

 

Shadowhunters littered the front hall, which led into what appeared to be a war room of sorts. He didn’t recognize any familiar extras from the show and definitely couldn’t see any camera men in the background, which made the whole thing feel a lot more real and terrifying. 

 

“You take him to Maryse and I’ll go tell Isabelle about the recent..issue.” Clary whispered  - not quietly - in Jace’s ear. 

 

Jace nodded his head, grabbing Clary’s forearm gently. 

 

“Break it to her easy, please.” he whispered, worry evident in his voice. “Izzy and Alec have a bond almost as close as the parabatai relationship. She will freak if she find out that Alec’s in danger. I want my sister to recover, not to jump head first back into action.” his eyes were sad, shoulders slumping.  

 

Matt could tell that the Lightwood siblings’ bond was thicker than thieves - it was wonderful. If he wasn’t in full-on Alec mode, he’d probably smile. 

 

Clary, however, frowned, but nodded firmly in reply. She took one last look at Matt before walking off towards a massive hallway lined with doors.  _ The living quarters _ , Matt suspected. 

 

“Come on.” Jace ordered, the softness from before completely gone, back into his cold exterior. 

 

Matt followed without a fuss, avoiding conflict with the hot-headed child. 

 

Jace kept his eyes straight ahead and Matt figured he should do the same, following closely behind, arms straight at his sides and face void of any human emotion. Alec was a warrior - a soldier like his brother - meant to protect this world from demons. He had to embody that attitude and keep a blank expression, especially when faced with Maryse. 

 

_ Speak of the devil herself _ , Matt thought as he heard her loud authoritative voice, booming from the opposite side of a cherry oak door. 

 

He gulped, casting a quick nervous glance at Jace, who offered little comfort, keeping his eyes fixed on the door. Matt rolled his neck, planted his feet, and stood up straight.

 

_ Shit just got real.  _

 

The door swung open, revealing a very angry Maryse Lightwood. A small Shadowhunter girl stepped out of the office chambers, hiding her face as she scurried down the hall. 

 

“Mother.” Jace greeted, a small smile curving upon his lips. His face stayed void of expression, but his voice softened, showing genuine love for the woman. How? Matt didn’t know. He knew two things about Maryse Lightwood, 1, she was awful, and 2, she was extremely unlikable. 

 

“Alec, Jace, glad you could finally make it.” she chided, disdain in her voice. She stepped out of the doorframe, ushering both men into the room. 

 

Matt felt his throat tighten as she circled around them and seated herself behind the desk. 

 

Jace sat across from her with ease, but Matt knew better. Alec wasn’t one to get comfortable, he was here to get the details of the issue at hand and roll out from there. So, Matt stood straighter, making perfect eye contact, and clasped his hands tightly behind his back. 

 

“What is it, mother?” he questioned blandly, watching as she glanced over her files with a tight-lipped expression. 

 

Jace took a moment to look between them, fiddling nervously with his stele. Matt gritted his teeth because if anything, Jace’s sweating and nervous tics would be what caused Maryse to figure out that he wasn’t - in fact - Alec Lightwood. 

 

Luckily, she didn’t pay any attention to Jace’s fidgeting, instead opting to let her eyes linger on Matt, a small ghost of a smile curving on her lips before she cleared her throat and got back to business. 

 

“With the Soul Sword being taken and the Institute recently being placed under attack, the Clave has decided to hunker down on the Downworlders, starting with the Werewolves.” she grimaced, spitting the words “Downworlder” and “Werewolves” out with poorly disguised disgust. 

 

Matt clenched his jaw and refrained from rolling his eyes as he listened to Maryse describe a recent spike in activity in Brooklyn Heights regarding a rogue wolf pack causing an abundance of mischief for no apparent reason. 

 

Jace nodded his head and Matt mentally jotted down all the information being given while trying to remain stoic and calm. Truth be told, it was a lot easier not to break character when Dom wasn’t making silly faces during his solo coverage. 

 

“The Downworld registry will be taking effect soon enough and hopefully, that will allow us to respond to rogue Downworlders in a timely fashion. It will make things easier on everyone, so we don’t have another situation like the rogue Downworlders that Valentine got a hold of.” she finished, sliding the manila folder over towards Jace, who immediately started searching through the file. 

 

Matt raised his brow in confusion -  _ they were actually doing a Downworld registry _ ? That was insane. It was pure evil in Matt’s eyes - treating Downworlders like they were caged animals, not allowing them to live freely in peace without the Clave breathing down their necks. This was inhumane. 

 

“Are you really going to force Downworlders to come forward and give away private information to the Clave?” he questioned incredulously, causing Jace to snap his head towards him and glare. 

 

“Alec, I know you and Isabelle have your weaknesses when it comes to Downworlders, but I highly suggest that you keep your emotions out of this.” Maryse snapped. 

 

“I am keeping my emotions out of this,  _ mother. _ ” Matt seethed. “Logistically, it wasn’t the Downworlders that gave Valentine the upper hand, it was the Shadowhunters who turned. It was the Circle - it was Hodge! It was an internal rebellion - the Downworlders were victims caught in the middle. I don’t believe this is right.” Matt argued, determination in his voice. 

 

“The Law is hard, but it is the Law.” Maryse negated, meeting Matt’s eyes with fury. “Look at what happened. This is what happens when you forgo the Law in favor of your own petty dalliances.  _ This _ is what the Law is for. The Law protects us. The Law keeps us safe. Our job is to uphold the Law because the Law is what ensures that our society functions. The Accords were created so we could live peacefully with Downworlders. Now, when the Accords have been broken so egregiously, there is no other option but the put in place a new law that will ensure that the Accords are followed. The registry is that law. Alec, if you try to fight me on this, I will have you benched and quarantined to your quarters. Do not make me lose one of my best warriors because he cannot keep his emotions in check.” Maryse finished, her face stone cold and her eyes flashing with anger. 

 

Matt gulped, unsure of what to say. There was so much wrong in what she was saying and he didn’t know what else to do, so he huffed out an angry breath, rolled his eyes, and marched out of the room. 

 

Matthew didn’t know where he was going, but headed down the corridor he’d seen Clary take to get to Isabelle. As he rounded the corner, he collided with another body. 

 

Fortunately for him, that body happened to be Isabelle Lightwood. 

 

When she saw him, her eyes widened in disbelief. 

 

“A-Alec?” she rasped, obviously still weak from the vampire venom in her system. 

 

“I, um.” Matt didn’t know what to say, but Isabelle simply took his arm and dragged him back to her room. 

 

“We can talk in here.” she said, scorching a ‘sound-proof’ rune into the door. She turned around carefully, as if moving too fast would hurt her, and sat down gingerly next to Matt on her bed. “I want you to tell me everything. Do not leave anything out.” she ordered, her eyes red from exhaustion and face covered in a thin sheen of sweat. 

 

“My name is Matthew Daddario.” he began, because if anything, Izzy deserved the truth. He was actually just talking with Emeraude the other day about Izzy’s character and the whole yin-fen storyline. Suffice to say, he knew that Isabelle Lightwood needed some love. “I’m… well, I’m a mundane - but I don’t like to use that word because it has some negative connotations, y’know? I mean, you Shadowhunters use it in kind of - well, honestly a pretty mean way. I mean, just look at Goldilocks over there, he literally spits of the word ‘mundie’ and I mean, that’s kinda mean, right? So no, I am not a Shadowhunter. But I’d prefer to be called just human. Because why, do you get me?” Matt broke character and let his usual personality flow, happy for the small break. 

 

Isabelle was giggling in spite of herself. 

 

“You… you’re something else. It’s so weird to hear you speak that way while wearing my brother’s face.” she sighed, running her shaky hands over her face. “I need to know that he’s okay. Can you tell me that, Matthew Daddario?”

 

“I - well, no. I have no idea, but Magnus is working on it. We’ll bring him home, I promise.” Matt placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, squeezing supportively. 

 

“Please don’t make promises you can’t keep.” Isabelle said in a small voice and Matt melted. He pulled the young Shadowhunter into a bear hug. 

 

“Izzy, I know I’m not your brother, but, in my world, Shadowhunters is a TV show and we get to play your characters. I don’t know how accurate everything is and how much everything aligns with the other, but I do know that for our jobs, we do character studies. We do everything we can to understand our characters and the characters around us inside and out. That’s the reason I can say this with absolute confidence.” He placed his fingers under Izzy’s chin and lifted her face to look him in the eyes. “Isabelle Lightwood, you are loved. You are loved so fucking much, you don’t even know. I know you feel alone and like you have to be strong for everyone around you, but trust me, it’s okay to let go sometimes. If you bottle everything up so much and hide your pain so well, people won’t realize that something’s wrong until it’s too late.” Matt left the allusion to her yin-fen addiction hanging in the air. 

 

Isabelle gave him a tight smile. 

 

“Thank you. I know I screwed up and I know that I made a huge mistake - one that I’m never going to make again,” she added, her eyes gleaming. “It means a lot to hear that, but right now, I’m just so worried about my brother. He means everything to me. I can’t help but feel that I could’ve done something to stop it, that if I hadn’t been so…  _ weak, _ ” she spat out that last word. “Maybe I could have stopped it.” Matt could see tears in her eyes and he sighed, holding her close. 

 

“Iz, you gotta stop thinking like that. I mean, you’re Isabelle Lightwood, badass extraordinaire, but even you couldn’t have seen that coming. Either way, you did end up saving Alec. The way you came in with your whip and then the bowstaff - man,” Matt whistled. “That was so cool. And you did it all in heels.” You took on 4 Circle members all by your pretty damn self. I think you should be proud of yourself, missy.” Matt watched with satisfaction as some of the lines on Izzy’s face smoothed out and she let herself breathe. 

 

“If I’d went with him when he came to Raphael’s, though,” she argued, the lines reappearing. 

 

“Nah, no, no, stop talking. Nope.” Matt interrupted, popping his ‘p’. “If you’d went back with Alec, who’s to say you wouldn’t be trapped in an alternate universe too? But man, I gotta say, it would be really interesting to watch Emeraude in this universe.” Matt chuckled to himself. 

 

“Emeraude? Is that the woman who plays me?” Isabelle asked, interested. 

 

“Yup, she’s adorable. She’s so positive and loving and - just like you - she always puts her family first. She actually speaks Spanish, which is really interesting on set because sometimes when she messes up her lines, she’ll curse in Spanish and no one will really understand what she said, but we can all assume and it gets pretty funny from there.” Matt grinned, thinking back on all the many times he and Dom had gotten Emeraude to break. 

 

“She sounds lovely.” Isabelle smiled. “So, being ‘on set’, that’s where you film, right? It must be really cool to be Shadowhunters without actually being in life or death situations.” she grinned. “I might’ve enjoyed your universe, actually. I wonder how I would be at acting.”

 

“Honestly, I’m just worried about how your brother is handling acting,” Matt retorted.

 

With that, Izzy threw her head back and laughed - a real, honest laugh that left her shoulders shaking and her breath wheezing. 

 

“I  _ can’t even imagine _ ! Gosh, I wish I could see him, he would be… I don’t even know!” she giggled, all traces of worry erased from her face for one blissful moment. “I wonder how he acts with Magnus! Tell me everything!” she turned to Matt excitedly and since they had nothing to do for the next few hours - because he guessed his noncompliance with Maryse meant he was quarantined - he launched into storytelling mode. 

 

“Well, Magnus is played by this really cool guy named Harry. Harry is honestly one of my best friends - he’s funny, charismatic, and oh! He dances! He’s actually originally a dancer by profession, but he got into the acting scene a bit after that.”

 

“I want to see Magnus dance now.” Izzy piped up. 

 

“If he’s anything like Harry, you’re in for a treat. He’s one of the best dancers I’ve ever seen.” Matt grinned. “Ah, you know what. I wonder how Alec will react when he finds out that Harry is actually straight in real life. He’s married to a woman - Shelby, she’s also amazing. Esther and I do couple shit with Harry and his wife all the time. It’s pretty fun, but I genuinely wonder how Alec will deal with it since, you know-” Matt rambled, half thinking about loud. 

 

“Wait, wait. Who’s Esther?’ Isabelle asked curiously. 

 

“Oh, ah, I keep forgetting that y’all don’t know. Well, Esther is my girlfriend. I, Matthew Daddario, am straight.” Matt announced, watching Isabelle’s eyes get wide and a mischievous grin spread across her face. 

 

“No. Way. Oh my gosh, did you ever date a Jessica Hawkblue?” Izzy asked excitedly. 

 

Matt laughed, his eyes crinkling up at the thought. “No, actually. I don’t think the universe thing works that way.” he chuckled. Izzy rolled her eyes but continued asking questions about Matt’s universe and speculating on how her brother would react. 

 

“You cook? Oo, you’ve gotta teach me a few things, people around here can be so harsh.” she scoffed lightheartedly. 

 

“Yeah, so I’ve heard.” Matt grinned. One the first details of Isabelle’s characterization in the books was that she was a terrible cook. As far as Matt was concerned, he was very interested in trying to change that. “I’ll do my best, cross my heart.”

 

Isabelle was fascinated by his world and Matt realized how rare it was for a Shadowhunter to be so open-minded and genuinely interested in their world. He knew that Shadowhunters generally looked down on mundanes and Downworlders alike, but it was only after meeting Shadowhunters and experiencing it for himself did he truly realize just how much. 

 

Isabelle Lightwood was the opposite of the expectation. She was kind, but fierce, loyal, but ruthless, and she was a Shadowhunter, but she didn’t look down on those without angel blood. He had a newfound appreciation for her character after spending hours talking to her. Matt was impressed. 

 

\---

 

After a few hours of questions and speculations, Isabelle seemed to run out of ideas. Sighing, she lay back on her bed. 

 

“You know, I haven’t had a talk like this with Alec in ages. I miss it. It was nice talking with you Matthew, honestly. Even though you aren’t my brother.” she added with a smirk. 

 

“My pleasure, Isabelle. It was really nice talking to you, too.” Matt got up and stretched, reaching his arms over his head and exhaling loudly. 

 

He looked at Isabelle, curled up on her side, sighing softly and felt bad for the young girl. He walked around the room, eyes landing on a roll of bandaging tape and he had an idea. 

 

“Hey, Izzy, are you good at eyeliner?” he asked nonchalantly. 

 

“Psh, darling, I am the best at eyeliner. Well, maybe Magnus could top me, but that’s just because he’s had  _ centuries _ of practice.” she smirked. 

 

“Do you want to play a game? Well, it’s more of a challenge, really.” he said, coming around to sit on the edge of her bed. 

 

“Okay…?” she replied, confused. “Why? What game?”

 

“We have time to kill and I don’t like seeing people not smiling, so why not?” Matt shrugged, gesturing for her to sit up. 

 

“Okay!” she agreed excitedly. 

 

“Alright, then. I bet that I can do my eyeliner better than you.” he challenged. 

 

Isabelle cackled. 

 

“Oh, honey, you’re on.” she reached over to her vanity and pulled out two eyeliner pencils, both sharpened to a fine point. 

 

“Wait, there’s one small caveat, per se.” Matt took the pencils out of her hands and placed them on the bed. “Give me your hand.” he said. 

 

Isabelle raised an eyebrow, but complied. When Matt began wrapping the tape around her hands, she tried to draw back, flummoxed. 

 

“I’m… just letting you do this to me? I’m not resisting?” she questioned, eyes wide. 

 

“That’s exactly what I said!” Matt’s laughter boomed through the soundproof room. “Literally word for word. Izzy, you might be my interdimensional parabatai.” he joked. 

 

“Sounds like a plan, Matt. If your heart suddenly starts to beat super fast for no reason, it’s probably because I’m fighting a demon somewhere.” Izzy snorted. 

 

Matt chuckled, finishing taping her hands and attempted to tape his own - Izzy ended up helping him out because it turned out to be a lot more difficult than it looked. 

 

“Ready? Go!” Matt began, picking up his little compact mirror and eyeliner. “Now, this might be a bit unfair to you because I’ve done this before and I’m very, very skilled at putting on eyeliner without thumbs.” Matt chided playfully, riling Izzy up. 

 

“Yeah, you’ve never faced me before.” she snarked back, picking up her own eyeliner and getting to work. 

 

Unfortunately for her, Matt’s faces and dry-humor commentary made it very difficult to focus on the actual task of putting on eyeliner. She had still barely finished her waterline when Matt threw his pencil down and paraded around the room, thumbless hands in the air. 

 

Izzy was laughing so hard she didn’t care that she’d lost. 

 

“You look,” she wheezed, in between laughs. “Ridiculous!” 

 

Matt gasped in mock offense and collapsed in the chair across from her bed. 

 

“You take that back, Isabelle Lightwood.” he demanded. 

 

Izzy just continued laughing and reached into her nightstand, pulling out a phone. 

 

“Oh no, no, no, no.” Matt argued, covering his hands with his face. 

 

“What do you care? You’re going back home soon anyways!” Izzy protested, struggling to hold her phone upright without her thumbs. Sighing and rolling her eyes, she whipped out her stele and burned through the tape, grinning victoriously when she was done. She picked up the phone and planted herself in front of Matt, who was still hiding his face. 

 

“Hey, I’m loyal to Alec. My poor buddy man is going to be ambushed when he gets back. I refuse to let that happen.” Matt pouted indignantly. 

 

“But you’re  _ my  _ interdimensional parabatai!” Izzy protested, trying to move Matt’s hands to get the picture. 

 

“There’s no such thing as  _ interdimensional parabatai _ .” Jace’s voice broke through their lil fight. 

 

Matt slumped further into his seat and rolled his eyes, sighing dramatically. He only realized his mistake when he heard a camera shutter click  _ several _ times. 

 

_ Ah, fuck. Sorry Alec. _ Matt thought, sending deep mental apologies to his Shadowhunting doppleganger. 

 

“Thanks Jace.” Izzy said smugly, shooting a victorious look at Matt, who just shook his head fondly. 

 

“Don’t thank me, Izzy. What are you even doing with this mundie? You’re supposed to be getting better, not more stressed.” Jace pointedly sent a glare at Matt. 

 

“Jace, lighten up. I am getting better.  _ Matthew _ is not stressing me out. In fact, he’s helping me destress. Quite well, I might add.” she smirked. 

 

Jace growled in frustration and turned back to Matt. 

 

“And  _ you _ ! What the hell were you thinking, talking back to Maryse like that? You’re lucky she didn’t catch you right then and there! You’re supposed to be a believable Alec, do you even know how to act? I can’t believe you would jeopardize my brother’s -  _ are you wearing eyeliner? _ ” Jace exclaimed incredulously. 

 

“Wow, I’m impressed. You Shadowhunters sure are observant, aren’t you?” Matt smirked, raising his eyebrows playfully. 

 

“Yeah, doesn’t he look great?” Izzy laughed, coming around to cut the tape off of Matt’s hands. 

 

Jace scoffed, but Matt could see the corners of his mouth upturned. 

 

“Yeah, well, we’re not here to play games. Maryse was surprised at  _ Alec’s _ actions, but she ended up blaming the change in behavior on Magnus’ influence on you. You’re lucky that your cover hasn’t been blown, Daddario.” Jace huffed. 

 

“Look at you, referring to me by my name. I feel a camaraderie coming on.” Matt teased, flexing his sore thumbs. 

 

“You wish.” Jace replied.

 

“Baby steps, then.” Matt retorted, not missing a beat. Jace rolled his eyes, but didn’t argue further. 

 

“The  _ reason _ I’m here is because Maryse needs both of you on a mission, now. Rogue vamps have been kidnapping mundies and Maryse wants us to bring them in. With the Downworld registry, we’re running short on Shadowhunters and Maryse needs all hands on deck. I called Magnus and he’s talked to Raphael. Raphael said the vamps were rogue, so we have our orders.” Jace reported, tossing Matt a bow -  _ Alec’s _ , he guessed. 

 

“So, I get to go on a mission after all, huh?” Matt murmured, mainly to himself. 

 

“Yep. Try to keep up, Daddario.” Jace called over his shoulder as he walked out of the room. 

 

“You sure you’re going to be okay?” Izzy asked, suiting up for the mission herself. 

 

“I got you watching my back, right?” he joked. 

 

“Damn straight. Let’s do this.” Izzy’s heels clicked against the tile as she marched out of the room, ready for a fight. 

 

Matt took a deep breath, strapped on his bow, and followed. 

 

~


	7. Parabatri

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alec discovers the PARABATRI

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!  
> First of all, I really want to apologize for the extreme delay with the rest of this story. Both myself and my co-writer have been overwhelmed with so much stuff. For me personally, I began paramedic school this year and the toll it took on me was completely unexpected. After finishing paramedic school, I'm finally able to start writing again! Thank you so much to all those people who stuck with the story even through the LONG hiatus. I've discovered that with everything - papers, presentations, fanfictions, proposals, etc - I'm shit at estimating deadlines for myself. That being said, I'm in writing overdrive right now, so I'm trying to finish this fic by the end of April at most. 
> 
> On the other hand, one thing I can PROMISE y'all is that WE WILL FINISH THE FIC. IT WILL NOT BE ABANDONED, I PROMISE. 
> 
> Another HUGE thank you to everyone who left kudos and comments. Your comments make my day and inspire me to write, so please, keep them coming! I'd love to hear your thoughts, predictions, and what you want in the story coming up. And as always, you're more than welcome to hit me up on tumblr @ unorthodoxpartofyourworld
> 
> Also, I know that this fic has turned more angsty that expected - I'm sorry for those who came here for a fluffy comedic piece! We're going to get back to the comedy soon, I promise! There's just a fuckton of feelings to be worked out on either side of this soul glitch. 
> 
> A lot of people are frustrated at the long and unplanned hiatus this fic has taken and are worried about it being abandoned, so one more time, I just really want to apologize for giving y'all that impression. I have no intention to abandon this fic and neither does my lovely co-writer. We're not going to let you down with this one, friends. 
> 
> As always, feel free to message us!  
> My tumblr is unorthodoxpartofyourworld and my twitter is @hrhjtinajude  
> <3
> 
> Enjoy!

Alec groaned and stretched his neck forward and back, feeling the ache at the base of his neck. Purposely letting Kyle land him on his ass at least a hundred times was not fun in any dimension - _and it hurt like a bitch_. He’d been in a bad mood since his physical training yesterday, but today he was too sore. It was irritating to constantly fight against his instincts and force himself to get knocked down, but at least Alec had finally gotten the sequence down.

 

He was Alec Lightwood, he could do anything he put his mind to.

 

He adjusted his aching, tired body in his chair and leaned back, waiting for Julia and Stephanie to arrive and “turn him into Alec Lightwood”. As terrifying and aggravating as this whole situation was, he was slowly feeling better about the whole thing. He still desperately wanted to go home and missed his own universe terribly, but he wasn’t afraid and angry all the time.

 

 _I can do this. I can pull it off and soon enough, I’ll be home and Matthew Daddario will be back to pretending to be me,_ Alec thought confidently. He glanced back at Esther as she casually scrolled through her phone, looking up at him occasionally. He caught her eye in the mirror and grinned lazily. Esther had quickly become a good friend and Alec trusted her already.

 

“What’s with that goofy grin on your face, Lightwood?” Esther asked, leaning back on the couch.

 

“He’s not a Lightwood yet!” a cheery voice called out as the door opened to reveal Julia’s high bun and Stephanie’s knotted curls. Alec cringed a bit on the inside, but pasted a broad smile on his face, trying not to let his discomfort show at that statement. Esther had frozen in shock at first, but she quickly recovered and was chuckling - albeit, a bit awkwardly - with the other two ladies.

  


Alec gazed into his own eyes, blank expression staring back at him in the mirror. The world outside of his cluttered thoughts continued on. A woman with fair hair and tanned skin ran her fingers through his messy hair, applying product over his dark strands. Esther watched him closely from behind, fingers wrapped tightly around her phone, but her eyes were fixed on his sulking frame. She was worried about him, he could tell. Everything from the way she bit her bottom lip to her subconsciously bouncing leg told Alec that she already knew he was slowly losing it.

 

He missed home, but home was far away. Here he was stuck in a world flooded with mundanes and he was ordinary and useless. He was a  warrior being put through a war he wasn’t trained for. Pretending to be someone he was not was getting exhausting by the minute. It all seemed so simple: play the part, read the lines, convince your “friends”, but Alec was reaching his wit’s end.

 

 _I am ‘Matthew Daddario’_ , Alec thought bitterly.

 

No.

 

He was, and always would be, Alec Lightwood.

 

“Almost done here, darlin’, and then we can send you on your way!” smiled the fair-haired woman - Ashley? Julie? He didn’t know her name. He was too upset to remember it.

 

Alec thought of his family. Did they miss him? Of course, they did. _Stop being stupid,_ he had to scold himself. They were most likely just as frustrated. Being stuck with a mundane version of himself didn’t sound very pleasing. Jace was probably balding from the stress as we speak.

 

Magnus might find the situation amusing… Alec thought about the warlock’s mischievous tendencies and wondered if Magnus was finding the whole situation a bit too amusing.

 

Alec sighed and closed his eyes. Alec loved Magnus and...Magnus loved him. They’d never actually said the words out loud to each other, but Alec knew that the bond they shared was special. He couldn’t let irrational thoughts and unnecessary jealousy over… his mundane doppelganger… get him down or get him to lose trust his boyfriend.

 

In all honestly, Magnus could very well be finding this whole situation agonizing, more so that Alec was. Alec didn’t know, but he hoped Magnus was okay. He hoped he wasn’t beating himself up over this, it wasn’t his fault. Alec loved him more than life, and it hurt thinking that Magnus - The High Warlock of Brooklyn -  could be losing sleep and burning energy all over _him._

 

“Powder his nose for me Stephanie? He’s sweating quite a bit today. Coming down with something, Daddario? You’re clammy as hell.” Julie/Ashley observed, moving out of the way for the makeup artist to do her thing.

 

_I’m sad. I’m homesick. I miss my family._

 

“Me? Nah. Just low on caffeine! My body hates me right now, I need energy.” he replied, a laugh escaping his lips. Alec smiled brightly at her - which seemed to be infectious - she smiled back and continued perfecting his hair.

 

“Odd, you never go without your morning shots of espresso. Turning into Alec Lightwood, ay there bud?” She joked, wiping her product-coated fingers on a nearby towel.

 

Alec caught eyes with his reflection again, swallowing back the urge to scream.

 

“You have no idea.”

* * *

 

“That wasn’t so bad, right? You’re getting the hang of it.” Esther linked her arm through Alec’s as they made their way off-set. Alec grunted in response and sighed a little as she lightly guided him towards his trailer and continued praising him for his convincible portrayal.

 

Alec was barely listening.

 

“I mean, obviously you would know how to play yourself. I shouldn’t have doubted that, but you’re a Shadowhunter, not an actor! I’m genuinely impressed Alec, good job.” She was rambling, either to fill the silence or simply to make conversation.

 

Alec sighed under his breath and turned to Esther with his lips pressed into a tight grin. He didn’t want to come off as a downer. Admittedly, yesterday hadn’t been bad. It actually went over really well and he had fun. He bonded well with his castmates, and he _was_ doing a pretty good job. Hell, if he wasn’t a Shadowhunter in his universe, maybe he’d have ended up in show business.

 

Still, every second he was away from his family sent a bone chilling spike of fear down his spine. What if he wouldn’t make it home? What if he was trapped? Alec felt guilty every time he laughed or smiled because his happiness was a painful reminder that his loved ones were suffering at home, missing him and probably going through a shit ton of problems with a mundane in the Institute. Alec was constantly torn because every time he relaxed, the guilt flooded in and sent him back into his anxiety. It was like this universe was created to mentally exhaust and torment him.

 

He needed a moment to himself.

 

“Thank you.” he breathed out, attempting to put some warmth in his voice. “I appreciate it, and I appreciate you. I just need a minute, is that okay? I’ll be in Matt’s trailer.” he said quickly, pulling away from Esther’s grip.

 

Esther called out to him, worry evident in her tone. He heard her running after him, but his long legs thankfully carried him to the safety of the trailer. He locked the door, and sighed. Maybe he was being childish, sue him. Today wasn’t a good day and Alec was upset. He had the right to be.

 

He slid down against the door of the trailer and attempted to control his heavy breathing. Thankfully, he wasn’t having a panic attack. Alec knew it wasn’t something he could control, but he always felt weak and pathetic after he’d calmed down. He hated that feeling.

 

The entire situation was crazy - he was in another _universe_ but he still saw the faces of his sister, his parabatai, and the love of his life. Alec’s heart grew heavier every second he spent thinking about it. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw his sister’s face staring back at him. He cursed this stupid spell for taking him away from his sister when she needed him the most. He couldn’t stop thinking about how much he needed to be home right now.

 

The sadness gave way to fierce frustration and anger. Alec wanted to scream, shout, shoot arrows into the wind, and jump off a building, but there wasn’t much he could do as mundane Matthew Daddario in his trailer. So instead, Alec’s lip trembled as he gritted his teeth and blinked back tears. The dam was about to break. He pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes and swallowed down the knot in his throat. _You’re okay, you’re okay._

 

A tear slipped down his cheek and a quiet sob escaped his lips. There was no holding back now, he needed to let everything out. Alec finally allowed himself to release the tears that burned his eyes, and cried.   
  
He cried for his family. He cried for his sister. He cried for his boyfriend and the fear that he’d never see anyone he loved again.

 

Alec hugged himself tightly, and closed his eyes. Maybe sleep would give him peace.

* * *

A loud, banging sound woke Alec from his fitful sleep curled up on the floor. His neck hurt from craning forward, but his chest felt a bit lighter and he could breathe a little better. Alec got up silently, ignoring the sound at the door, and laid down gingerly on his couch, stretching out his limbs. Alec closed his eyes again, breathing in the scent of the plastic wood flooring and cheap interior surrounding him.

 

“Matt! Don’t make me bust down this door. I’ll get a hammer, man.” a familiar voice floated in through the closed door. It almost sounded like Magnus, but not quite. It didn’t share the same warmth and musicality of the wonderful Magnus Bane.

 

_Harry._

 

“I’m sick, leave me to die.” he groaned out, gritting his teeth.

 

He heard a chuckle from the other side of the door and swung his legs off the couch, lifting himself into a sitting position.

 

“Daddario, don’t tell me you forgot about our deal? I’m hurt. You’re the worst Parabatri, Harry and I were counting on you buddy!” Alec heard Isaiah join in.

 

_Parabatri?_

 

He didn’t want to know.

 

Alec rubbed his face with both hands, and sighed. He ran his fingers through his messy hair, scrunching up his nose at the unfamiliar feeling of product on his head. “What deal? I don’t know what you’re talking about.” he replied, rubbing his fingers together and feeling the product stick them together.

 

Alec heard the two men laugh and whisper amongst themselves and looked at the closed door in irritation.

 

He didn’t want this, not today. He just wanted to be left alone to wallow in his own self pity. _Of course he couldn’t let anyone know that’s what he was doing._

 

Alec sighed. Clearly these two men weren’t going to leave him to his wallowing.

 

“We brought the fish and we got all the ingredients. Daddario, this cookoff is happening whether you like it or not. You can’t get out of this one, no sir. Get off google and stop hermitting in your trailer. This war has begun!” Isaiah’s voice boomed dramatically. Harry laughed joyfully, and proceeded to bang on the door again.

 

“Wakey wakey! We got fish to bakey. Open the door!”

 

Alec licked his lips, and immediately stood up from his spot. “Yeah, okay. Give me a minute.” he managed to say without his voice cracking. He waited to hear their responses, and after receiving a playful ‘whatever’ and sarcastic ‘take your time’, Alec stumbled into the tiny bathroom to wash his face.

 

He looked a mess. His hair was sticking up in every direction, and his eyes were bloodshot. The bags under his eyes were definitely prominent, and showcased the tiredness he truly felt. They would notice he wasn’t okay. Anyone with eyes could clearly see that he wasn’t happy.

 

A ghost stared back at Alec in the mirror, a reminder of everything that’s been crashing around him. He was actually foolish enough to believe he could get through this without breaking. He thought he could handle this, make everyone proud. Alec was wrong.

 

Splashing water in his face, and ridding his eyes of crusted tears, Alec took a deep breath to pull himself together.

 

_Emotions cloud your judgement._

 

He hated going back to that mindframe, but in this case, it was true. He couldn’t get through this without blocking everything in the back of his mind. Everything hurt.

 

Another loud knock at the door pulled him out of his never ending sea of dark thoughts and self pity.

 

“Matt! Come on man.” Harry said with a laugh.  

 

Alec puffed out his cheeks, and turned the faucet off. “Yeah, I’m coming!” he shouted back, adding a tiny bit of laughter in his voice. _It’s just acting, you can do this._

 

Alec stepped out of the bathroom, not even bothering to change out of ‘Alec Lightwood’ attire. He was allowed to be lazy. Alec was sure Matt had those days too, _he was_ technically just another version of himself, right? Fuck it.

 

Opening the door, Alec spotted Harry leaning against the wall of the trailer _smirking._

 

Isaiah was on the ground, back muscles constricting with every heave of his breath. Was he... doing pushups? _What the fuck._

 

Alec slowly stepped down, eyeing Isaiah in confusion. “What are you doing?” he questioned, stealing a glance at Harry, who was too busy trying to not to laugh to acknowledge Alec’s staring.

 

 _He laughs a lot_ , Alec thought. It’s nice. He wished Magnus would laugh more, it's a rare thing, but beautiful. He cherished the sound.

 

Isaiah toppled over, breathing hard. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and stared Alec down with an offended, yet playful, expression.

 

“Finally!” he all but groaned. Isaiah pulled himself up off the ground and stretched his back. “I thought you’d never come out Daddario, Harry had me down on the ground until you came out. I’ve definitely had my workout for the week.” he chuckled, reaching towards Harry for his discarded water bottle.

 

Alec watched him drink the entire thing in one massive gulp and toss the bottle like a basketball into a nearby trash can.

 

“I’m sorry guys, I’m not really feeling myself today. What exactly are we doing?”

 

Harry gave him a look that clearly said ‘are you serious?’ while Isaiah groaned again. Alec bit the inside of his cheek, waiting for a response or explanation, but instead, he got a hard slap on the shoulder from Isaiah. “Are you kidding me right now? You planned this! Are you okay man?” Isaiah asked in a softer tone.

 

Alec’s blood ran cold.

 

Matthew Daddario was a difficult man to impersonate on a good day, and this was not that great a day to begin with. Alec felt the heat in that moment. He stared blankly into Isaiah's eyes, unable to form proper words. Of course, now would be the time that his lack of communication skills decided to bite him in the ass.

 

“I - I’m fine. I’m good.” he finally says. “Let’s um, get started.”

 

Harry arched his brow and looked between the two men. “Matt, buddy, are you letting Alec’s emo tendencies get to you?” he asked, playfully but with a cautious edge to his voice.

 

Alec’s brows furrowed of their own accord and his mouth fell open in disdain -  _and maybe a bit in denial, but who really needed to know that_  ? More importantly, Alec turned his shock onto Harry. _How dare he??_

 

“What?! Of course not. Alec’s not emo, he’s just - he’s got - .. He has problems, okay? He can’t help it.” he defended, scowling at the actors in front of him.

 

Isaiah shot him a strange look, one eyebrow raised suspiciously. He shrugged casually and held up him hands in mock surrender. “Relax buddy, we’re just messing around. But hey, seriously, if this isn’t a good time or if you’ve got something on your mind, we can save the cook-off for another day and just grab a coffee or something. You know, talk it out or not talk it out.” Isaiah said. Harry nodded in agreement and patted Alec’s shoulder comfortingly.

 

“Thanks, guys.” Alec rolled his shoulders and shot a half-smile at them. “I really appreciate it. Honestly, I’m not totally feeling up to it today. It’s just one of those days, you know? Just…. Ah.” Words failed him, but the sentiment was received loud and clear. Understanding dawned on both Harry and Isaiah’s faces.

 

“Yeah, I hear you. No worries, Matt.” Harry smiled lazily.

 

“Definitely. But hey, do you have any more scenes to shoot today?” Isaiah asked curiously.

 

Alec checked the schedule Esther had given him this morning. “Um, I have one in a few hours, we’re scheduled to start shooting at 5 PM.” Alec pulled out his - _Matt’s_ \- phone. “It’s 1:47 now. Did you guys want to do something or…?”

 

“Hell yeah, we can grab a coffee, run lines, sit around and gossip like real men, you know?” Harry joked, winking and sending Isaiah into chuckles and even pulling a grin out of Alec.

 

“Usual spot?” Isaiah called, already walking ahead towards the production site.

 

“Sure…” Alec responded, blindly following the man.

 

The usual spot turned out to be a small break room with one table, a coffee machine, and a vending machine with extremely limited options. The table was circular and placed in the middle of the room, but the chairs were scattered weirdly around the room, not even close to the table. Alec watched as Isaiah and Harry grabbed some coffee and  - to his utter surprise - opened the vending machine and grabbed some snacks. They each settled in cozy looking chairs and glanced at Alec, who hadn’t moved since stepping into the room.

 

“A broken vending machine that they keep forgetting to fix is probably my favorite part of being on set. Mainly because they leave it open and keep forgetting to lock it.” Harry said as he ripped open a bag of Chex Mix.

 

“Couldn’t agree more, brother. I’ve developed quite a taste for these cheddar and cheese sandwich crackers. Can you believe I used to hate them?” Isaiah chortled.

 

Harry and Isaiah continued a conversation, bantering back and forth about their days while glancing at Alec every couple moments.

 

Alec casually began to copy their movements, pouring himself a cup of coffee and turning to stand in front of the vending machine. He looked through the options for a minute, scouring through the fruit snacks and various different flavors of Combos, finally settling on the Combos. He jimmied open the vending machine, grabbed the Pizzeria Pretzel flavor, and sat down in the last remaining chair, hyper-aware of eyes on him the entire time.

 

“...she kept singing that one line and I genuinely thought I was going to go crazy, man. I still can’t place it, but you know that when you hear one line and the song is right on the tip of your tongue but you can’t place it? I just needed to hear the next line and she couldn’t remember it either, so she kept singing that one line and the song bothered me so much I couldn’t hold focus for the next scene!” Harry exclaimed.

 

“Hastings must’ve gotten a kick out of that! What did you do?” Isaiah asked eagerly, leaning forward with a chuckle.

 

“What could I do? The fifth time the director called ‘CUT’, I asked everyone on set what the song was.”

 

“No,” Isaiah’s eyes widened, eyebrows shooting up. “No, you did not stop shooting just to figure out what song Em was singing today.”

 

“Damn straight!” Harry laughed, and even Alec was laughing now. He didn’t really understand what was going on in the story, but the incredulity behind it was amusing. Harry was a great story-teller and him and Isaiah together were quite a pair. It was hard to be in the same room and not collapse into giggles along with these two grown men.

 

“So, I get Emeraude to come up and sing that one damn line.” _Emeraude - Izzy’s actress_ , Alec realized, and a smile spread over his face because he knew that if Emeraude was anything like his sister, she couldn’t sing for shit. “And she won’t sing it because I called her out. After I begged and convinced her to start singing, she sings ‘forever’s gonna start tonight, once upon a time there was love in my life… la la la la something… the dark… I don’t even know, but it started bothering everyone because no one could remember it. So we all took an actual break from shooting trying to figure out what song that was.” Harry ran his hands over his face. “Ugh, I’d never wished for the pro-Googler more in my _life_ , man. Matt, where are you when I need you?” Harry was still chuckling.

 

“Seriously, Matt. Your Googling can _save lives_ , hero. Much more than your archery, that’s for sure.” Isaiah joined in.

 

“It can save everything, just not Harry’s sanity.” Alec grinned, winking at the limber dancer. The three of them broke out in peals of laughter and Alec felt at ease, finally.

 

 _These men are good people_ , Alec realized, watching the two men in front of him bantering and teasing each other relentlessly. He sighed and took a long sip of his coffee as Harry and Isaiah finished warring with their words. As the laughing wound down, Isaiah turned to Alec with a critical eye.

 

“So buddy, we’re not prying, but how are things going with you? You feeling okay? You’ve been a little weird lately.” Isaiah said carefully and Harry nodded along.

 

“Matt, more than just castmates, we consider you a really close friend, extremely important to both of us.” Harry gestured between the two of them and turned to face Alec again. “If there’s anything going on, we’ve got your back, man. Seriously. Anything.”

 

Alec opened his mouth to brush them off but something nagged at him.

 

“I’m fine, guys-” he started.

 

“Bullshit.” Isaiah cut him off. “Listen brother, if it’s not something you want to share, I completely understand. Just let us know if something’s going on though. At least we can keep an eye out for you and help you if we can. Remember that deal? We’d watch out for each other on set and make sure no one burns out. No matter what.”

 

Alec didn’t know what to say. So he decided he should tell as much of the truth as he could.

 

“Yeah. Yeah, okay.” Alec ran his hands over his face and rested his elbows on his knees, digging the heels of his hands into his eyes. “It’s been weird. Really weird. Things are just… weird. I don’t even know what to say other than I haven’t felt like myself in a few days and I don’t really know what to do about it.” Alec mumbled, a part of him hoping they could hear him and another part hoping desperately that they didn’t.

 

They heard.

 

Alec heard footsteps shuffling towards him and felt two hands - one squeezing his shoulder and the other patting his back. He looked up to see both Harry and Isaiah perched on either arm of his chair, trying to offer their support any way they could.

 

“Sometimes, man, I wake up and I sit in bed and wish I was someone else. I wonder how frickin’ amazing it would be to actually be someone like Magnus Bane or even fucking Bruno Mars. How nice it would be to just take a break from my life and live someone else’s. To be able to do more than I can do right now or to just be in a different situation.” Harry gazed blankly at a spot in the carpet. “Sometimes, all you can do is remind yourself of how lucky we are, how blessed. Just take a look around at how much we have, the people who love and look up to us, the friends, family, and the relationships we nurture. At the end of the day, that’s what’s worth it.” Harry’s gaze turned to Alec and he gave him a tight-lipped smile.

 

“Yeah, Matt, buddy, sometimes we just gotta push through. Hold your head high and just take each day for what it is - another experience or adventure or lesson just waiting to happen. We can’t really control what happens to us, but we can control how we deal with it, how we approach it, and how we let it affect us.” Isaiah moved his hand up to ruffle Alec’s hair and glided back to his chair, sitting forward to stare intently at Alec, eyes sympathetic and understanding.

 

“Just keep hanging on and lean on us - or Esther, or your family, or any of the cast and crew, really. We all love you, Matt. You’re an important part of this little family. Just lean on us… “ Harry smirked and looked at Isaiah, raising his eyebrows - _are you in?_ “Lean on me, when you’re not strong…” Harry sang loudly.

 

“I’ll be your strength, I’ll help you carry on!” Isaiah joined in.

 

Alec didn’t know the song, but he enjoyed watching the two men sing a song about friendship and hope. It was refreshing. Even though their advice, love, and support was for Matthew Daddario, it was nice to feel the kinship Matt had with these men - his friends. It was powerful and it made Alec immediately feel more comfortable.

 

Something unwound in Alec, a tightly coiled spring of anxiety that he didn’t realize he was clinging to. Even if these faces didn’t have his loved ones behind them, they had some pretty great people behind them either way. Behind Isaiah’s fun, easy-going demeanor, there was a calmness, a seriousness, and better yet, a kindness that helped Alec feel grounded. Harry, on the other hand, was harder to accept, but while the musicality and grace of Magnus remained, Harry had such a boyish, reckless charm that made him seem like a really good friend and a great wingman. Between his random breakouts of dancing to his cheesy jokes and dry wit, Harry didn’t carry the mystery and intrigue of Magnus Bane, High Warlock of Brooklyn. Instead, Harry’s face had hilarity, humor, and all-around good times written all over it. Alec felt himself loosen up as these key differences finally registered for him.

 

He grinned again and joined the simple, off-key chorus, laughing when their little choral ensemble fell apart as quickly as it had begun. Sipping their coffees and chatting about their mundane lives was becoming more and more appealing for Alec. The normalcy was surprisingly grounding. He admired the friendship between the men - it reminded Alec of him and Jace and their strong parabatai bond.

 

 _Hmm… parabaTRI. Parabatri. I get it, now,_ Alec thought to himself.

**Author's Note:**

> Should be updated at least once a week, give or take. Again don't judge me, I love Matthew Daddario and needed him and Alec to switch places lmao just for a little while of course.


End file.
